Relations
by Invader Lana
Summary: "You really think I don't know what you really want to do to that blonde? Come on, we're both girls here, just admit it." Rated T for some swearing and adult themes in later chapters. FxOC AxP.
1. The Door to Other Worlds

****A/N****

** Okay this is my first Storm Hawks fic. I'm obsessed with the show, I think it's awesome. I'm still new at the whole writing thing so please feel free to help me out with ay constructive criticism. Before I get started I guess I should also say that I DO NOT OWN STORM HAWKS :( :( :( But I do own Erin.**

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Chapter 1 - The Door to Other Worlds.

Erin Spencer walked down the steps at the front of her school. It had been another long day in the horrible prison the government forced her to return to five days a week. Thank goodness it was her final year. The sunlight shone brightly in her brilliant green eyes as she looked up at the sun. Freedom was sweet. Now that the weekend had come, Erin could finally relax and do things her own way.

'The assignments can wait a day or so' she thought as she slung her bag over her shoulder and began walking quickly in the direction of her house, 'I don't have the patience for them at the moment. A seventeen year old has better things to do.' She pushed her long fringe out of her face and flicked the rest of her hp length, red hair over her shoulders. Her mother would still be at work by the time she got home. This was a great relief as Erin's mum would probably force her to do those assignments straight up. Because she was a teacher, she always tried to make sure that Erin was achieving straight 'A's and it drove Erin absolutely nuts. She shook her head and sighed when she thought of the time her mum had said "One day you'll be a great doctor or lawyer and you'll thank me for this" to which Erin had rolled her eyes. Perfection just wasn't a trait she had inherited.

As she rounded the corner to her street she looked to the sky once again, only to see the sun disappearing behind a vast amount of dark clouds that seemed to materialize out of nowhere. There was a bright flash of lightning and Erin jumped as he sound of thunder met her ears. She went to start walking again but halted when she came face to face with another girl. A girl about her age with dark hair and purple eyes ringed with black. Her eyes had a menacing look in them; a look Erin didn't think was possible for a human being.

"Hello Erin," the girl spoke slowly, in a soft yet creepy tone. Her expression becoming darker.

Erin could only stand there and stare at the other girl. "H-how do you know my name? Who are you?" she asked. Trying very hard to remember how her legs worked so that she could run away. The other girl only grinned and stepped forward.

"I know a lot about you Erin. There is no more hiding from me." she continued, still advancing on Erin.

"Who are you?" Erin repeated, managing to stumble backwards a little.

"Master Cyclonis" the girl replied, she held up a glowing purple crystal, "you're going to come with me." Erin turned to run but only got a few meters before a bright light surrounded her, immobilizing her. "You can't run from me, Erin" Master Cyclonis laughed. She waved her hand through the air. Erin was shocked to see a doorway appear there. She only had a moment to take in the sight before she was pushed through the doorway with Master Cyclonis stepping through after her.

* * *

The Condor was circling slowly around terra Amazonia. Aerrow had decided they should lay low for the day so that they could all take a break. Finn took full advantage of this break and organized a barbeque, just as everyone else predicted he would. Piper took the time to sit down and sit down and experiment with her crystals at the table while Aerrow sat across from her watching. Finn was grilling at the barbeque and dancing along to his music at the same time. Junko had fallen asleep on the floor with Radarr also sleeping. Stork, however, was nowhere to be seen. He insisted that he had to stay at the helm the entire day. He also muttered something along the lines of Finn's barbeques almost always end in disaster and something else about mind worms.

Piper was concentrating so hard on her crystals. She had been working on a way to create a crystal to help read thoughts. She thought it would be of great use in a battle to know the enemy's next move. They way that it would have to work is for the person to eat the crystal; but surely thee was another way, eating them just seemed odd. 'I guess the time Stork swallowed that Gravitron crystal he was okay for the time it was inside of him... except for the Leugey problem' Piper shuddered slightly, remembering the great annoyance that was Leugey. Unfortunately for Piper, Aerrow noticed the shiver.

"Piper, are you alright? It's actually rather warm here and you're shivering." Aerrow placed a gentle hand on her arm. Piper looked up and smiled softly. Sometimes she forgot what a gentleman he was, always making sure that she was okay.

"I'm fine Aerrow," she replied quietly, placing her hand over the one he had set on her arm, "just thinking about some stuff."

"Like?" Aerrow stared at her.

"Just these crystals," she pointed to the glowing stones scattered on the table, "I'm trying to create a new crystal that'll increase our chances in winning in battle with Cyclonia. I just can't seem to get it right." The truth was that she had been feeling a little off lately, mostly around Aerrow. She couldn't explain it to herself so she most definitely couldn't explain it to him. She was trying desperately to distract herself with the crystals.

Aerrow patted her arm and grinned at her. "If anyone can do this Piper, it'd be you." With that he stood and walked over to Finn to see how he was doing. Piper sighed again. It wasn't exactly an easy task, but Aerrow was probably right, she was extremely knowledgeable when it came to crystals and she would definitely be able to finish this task. If not for herself, then for her teammates and the rest of the Atmos.

"Food's up!" Finn yelled just as Aerrow reached him, making Junko and Radarr jump out of their slumber and rush over to the table. Finn looked so proud of himself as he moved the food onto a plate to carry to the table; Aerrow couldn't help but smirk at his sharpshooter. Finn always seemed o have a huge grin permanently plastered to his face, even inn battle; and he always had the need to celebrate even the smallest things. So really, this expression of self-satisfaction smeared across Finn's features was not an unusual sight.

As he finished transferring the meat onto the plate, Finn leaned over to Aerrow who was standing next to you. "Hey dude, is Piper okay?" he asked quietly, making sure that she wouldn't overhear him.

Aerrow ran his hands through his hair, "I don't know Finn. She seems a bit one-track-minded though doesn't she?"

"Dude, do you ever pay attention to Piper? She's always like that. She spends all of her time perfecting all her plans and crystals; she rarely joins in with the rest of us" Finn pointed out.

"No, she's never been like this before. She looks like she's troubled beyond just the crystals but she's refusing to admit it to herself. Maybe we should just keep an eye on her to make sure she's okay." Aerrow began strolling slowly back to the table closely followed by Finn. The second the food was put down, Junko began reaching for a burger when suddenly…

"INCOMING CYCLONIANS!" Stork's voice came over the comm.

"Oooh…" Junko sighed gloomily as all of the Storm Hawks (with the exception of Piper who went to join Stork), stood and bolted to their skimmers. Junko frowned but followed suit.

* * * *

"Careful guys, it's not just talons out there; the Dark Ace, Ravess and Snipe are out there too!" came Piper's voice over the comm.

"Pffft! We've shown these guys up so many times it's getting boring!" Finn exclaimed, revving his skimmer's engine.

"Well then, we'll show them again" Aerrow smiled confidently. Radarr chirped inn agreement placing his goggles over his eyes. "Stork Hawks, let's fly!" Finn and Junko nodded as they sped out of the Condor's hangar bay.

As soon as they were in the air, the Dark Ace's deep voice could be heard echoing across the sky. "Hello Storm Hawks," he snarled, "prepare to meet your doom!" Ravess and Snipe cackled evilly from either side of him.

"What the hell kind of scare tactic is that?" Finn scoffed.

Aerrow threw a quick smile in Finn's direction before returning his glare to his enemy. "Not today Dark Ace!" he growled, flying forward toward the Dark Ace. He pulled his energy blades from the holsters on his back and jumped up onto the front of his skimmer letting Radarr take over driving.

The Dark Ace smirked and copied Aerrow's actions, drawing his own blade from its holster. Their skimmers got closer and closer. Aerrow made the first move, swinging one of his blades straight out at the Dark Ace's chest, missing completely and meeting his blue blade to Dark Ace's red one instead.

"You can't beat me this time Aerrow," the Dark Ace snarled, "if you give up now I promise to make it… relatively painless."

"In your dreams!"

* * * *

Finn was getting a couple of talons into focus in his scope when an arrow shot straight past his left ear. He turned to see Ravess laughing at how unobservant he had been. "Play me some music to mark the end of the Storm Hawk's sharpshooter" she ordered the talon flying alongside her who was carrying a violin. The talon began playing a slow sad tune. Ravess smirked at Finn, pulling another arrow to her bow. Finn screamed and began to dive out of the way of the arrow. Unfortunately, Ravess was too quick and shot at Finn's skimmer, slicing it in two across the middle. Finn sat there for a moment and watched the front half of his skimmer fall away.

"Again?" he sighed before plummeting downward screaming his lungs out. He was caught by Junko who had just taken out Snipe with the Blue Ticklers.

"Hi buddy!" he grinned at Finn, who had just fallen crotch first onto the front of his skimmer. Finn wheezed a small 'hi' in reply.

The two of them came around again to see Aerrow and Dark Ace still battling.

Dark Ace had charged towards Aerrow and was now aiming energy blasts at him. He missed but managed to detach Radarr's co-pilot seat from the skimmer and Radarr along with it. Aerrow was so busy watching to make sure that Radarr's chute deployed and that he was okay that he didn't see the next blast that Dark Ace shot towards his chest which knocked him unconscious. He began falling but was caught by Dark Ace and pulled onto his skimmer. Finn and Junko were about to chase after him when they were stopped by a group of talons swarming around them. The Dark Ace, Aerrow and Ravess (carrying an unconscious Snipe) were all fading into the distance. There was nothing more that they could do besides retreat to the Condor.

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****A/N****

** Yay! First chapter finished. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up soon. Please Read and Review, it will encourage me to update faster. Thanks for reading! :)**


	2. Escape from Cyclonia Pt 1

****A/N****

** Firstly, I'd like to thank all who read and reviewed my first chapter… even the ones who replied on Facebook instead of this site… I'M TALKING TO YOU STEVEN AND JAKE!!! ^_^ Hope you all enjoy this chapter :) **

**I do not own Storm Hawks but I do own Erin :)**

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Chapter 2 – Escape from Cyclonia Pt. 1

"Where's Aerrow?" Piper asked worriedly as Finn, Junko and Radarr all dragged themselves onto the bridge. Finn could only look at Piper and shake his head before slumping over onto the railing. Radarr climbed onto the railing and patted Finn on the back, looking like he was about to cry himself. Piper gasped and turned toward Junko, "what happened?"

Junko held himself together by taking a deep breath before he explained what had happened to Piper. By the end of his recount of the event, Radarr had dragged himself out of the room to mope elsewhere and Finn was glaring angrily out the window at a passing cloud as if it were at fault. Stork was leaning over the Condor's controls. He gave a heavy sigh before speaking up, "guess this means we're going to Cyclonia to rescue him doesn't it?" he turned around to confirm with Piper only to see her collapse into tears. Junko pulled her into a hug to try and comfort her. Stork could only watch in shock, Piper had never cried when Aerrow was captured or hurt before, why was now so different? Not that he wasn't concerned for Aerrow too; this was just different for Piper.

"We have to go," Finn spoke up, "he's our Sky Knight and my best friend; and he would never abandon any of us." He stopped glaring out the window and turned to Stork, "set a course for Cyclonia, we'll get our Sky Knight back!" Stork looked a little upset at first because Finn _never _took charge in these sorts of situations. After a moment he nodded, deciding that Finn giving orders was better than nothing being done at all, and turned the Condor around toward Cyclonia.

Piper pulled her face from Junko's chest and smiled at Finn. She had never seen him so confident… just like Aerrow. She knew that the rest of the Storm Hawks would do whatever it took to get him back and she knew that she would do more. She wanted Aerrow back. She _needed _Aerrow back.

"Let's get to work on a plan then" Piper half whispered, a small smile lingering on her lips.

"A perfect, detailed plan" Finn added, to which Piper gave him a puzzled look. He normally hated her detailed plans and took pride in making sure they were not followed. Before she could question him he cut her off and said "because we don't want to take any risks this time."

* * *

Erin sat alone in the stone cold cell. Her eyes fixed on the bars of the door. She had woken only minutes ago and was now trying to recall the events prior to waking up there. What had happened? That creepy Cyclonis girl had shown up and trapped her, yes, but what had happened after going through the doorway was a complete blur. She had been in so much shock she could only remember bits and pieces. She remembered being dropped hard, possibly from when Cyclonis released her from the crystals suspending her in the air. She briefly remembered being dragged along the floor by two people and being thrown onto a stone bed right before passing out. She couldn't tell how long it had been or if there had been anything else going on. Once she had woken she sat up and stared directly ahead of her at the door, afraid of what would become of her now. Nobody knew where she was. It was like the beginning of a really bad horror film.

Her ears picked up on the sound of two faint sets of feet coming down the hallway, growing louder with each passing second. Erin could not move or think, all she could do was continue to stare ahead. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the owners of the footsteps came into view. The first, as Erin had already guessed, was Cyclonis carrying her staff which was holding what looked like the same crystal that she had used to imprison Erin earlier. The other set of footsteps belonged to a tall, slender man with dark hair and piercing crimson eyes. He was clearly equally as evil as Cyclonis but there was a certain arrogance about him also. Erin attempted to back further into the wall behind her in fear. Cyclonis smirked at the girl cowering in the corner of the room.

"Erin, I don't believe you've met my right hand man, The Dark Ace" she hissed in her snake-like voice. Erin, although fearful, had to suppress a snort at hearing this supposed 'villain's name. More footsteps could be heard approaching in the distance but Erin's attention was kept entirely on Cyclonis and Dark Ace. "Don't worry, we're not planning to hurt you yet" Cyclonis continued, "we have more important matters to tend to." The footsteps down the hall grew louder. "My Talons will make sure that you're stay with us is… relatively comfortable, as long you behave that is. Believe me when I say that consequences to rebelliousness will be extremely unpleasant." The footsteps stopped at that moment and Erin saw two men, possibly these 'Talons' Cyclonis spoke of, dragging a teenage boy about the same age as her with hair equally as red behind them. The boy appeared to be unconscious but an expression of pain was still etched across his face. There was something about his face that seemed vaguely familiar to Erin, but she pushed it to the back of her mind when she heard the Dark Ace chuckle from his spot beside Cyclonis and then speak.

"Just ask Aerrow here what will happen to disobedient captives. He's going to find out when he wakes." As the Dark Ace spoke, Aerrow was thrown onto the concrete bed in the cell across from hers. The Talons had walked out at locked the door before the Dark Ace spoke again. "He'll be in for a world of pain and suffering. I have spent so much time trying to bring him down and waiting for the day I could repay him for all the pain and humiliation that he's caused me over the last few years. After Aerrow is gone, that will be the end of the troublesome Storm Hawks that have been a thorn in Cyclonia's backside for the longest time." Cyclonis rolled her eyes at the Dark Ace as he finished talking and began to retreat back down the corridor with a cackling Dark Ace and the two Talons close behind her.

Erin felt bad for the boy in the cell across from her. What had he done that had been so wrong? He couldn't have been that much older than her, what would his family do if they knew where he was and the condition he was in right now? What about her family? Erin was so busy feeling sorry for the boy called Aerrow that she had completely forgotten that she was in an equally as bad situation. She felt a tear streak down her face as she thought of her mother and how worried she'd be. Memories of times she had spent with her mother came flooding into her mind and Erin broke down into long, silent sobs. Only minutes had passed but it felt like hours to Erin. She finally stopped crying when she heard stirring from the cell across the corridor. She stared in silence from the darkest corner of her small room.

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****A/N****

** And there's chapter 2! Sorry it's so short, I couldn't think of much else to write in it. To make up for it I'll try to update again either later today or tomorrow. Please R&R!!! :)**


	3. Escape from Cyclonia Pt 2

****A/N****

** As promised, here is chapter 3 of the story… Enjoy! I don't own Storm Hawks. Erin is mine.**

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Chapter 3 – Escape from Cyclonia Pt. 2

"Don't worry… more important things…"

"When he wakes…pain and suffering…Storm Hawks…"

Aerrow could only make out parts of what was being said around him as he came too. The voices he heard seemed to belong to Cyclonis and the Dark Ace addressing another person so he decided to keep his eyes closed for the time being. The last thing Aerrow needed was for one of his captors to discover that he was awake and start to torture him or something. He felt a faint bruising like pain across his chest and remembered the fight he had had with the Dark Ace and how he had looked away for only a moment and got hit in the chest with an energy blast. A lot of questions now crept into Aerrow's mind as he lay there; how long had he been out? What was to happen to him in here? Would the rest of his team find him before he was killed? He knew that it would only be a matter of time before Cyclonis would organize his execution. As all these thoughts whirred through Aerrow's head, the Dark Ace and Cyclonis seemed to get quieter and quieter until he could no longer hear them at all. Figuring it was now safe, Aerrow decided that it would be okay for him to open his eyes and take a look at his surroundings.

Slowly, he opened his eyes to see the concrete ceiling above him. He turned his head to the side and looked around. It was only a small concrete cell with the small concrete step he was laying on which he supposed was to be his bed. There were only three concrete walls, the fourth was formed by vertically assembled iron bars, the door was made the same way and had a huge padlock on it to ensure he couldn't escape. Slowly sat up and placed his feet gently on the floor. He looked out of the bars of his prison into the hallway. The dull light on the roof of the hall was the only thing illuminating the small room he was in. across from him was another cell identical to his. He could barely make out a shadow of someone sitting in the corner of the room.

Aerrow went to stand and walk to the bars but was stopped when a soft, female voice met his ears. "No, don't," she whispered, "if they come back and see you're awake they're going to torture you." Aerrow stared at the girl's shadow as she started to stand and move towards the bars of her cell. He sat back down and squinted to try and get a better look at her.

"Who are you?" he asked, trying to sound as polite as possible. The girl moved into the light and he could see her more clearly. Her bright green eyes scanned him as she pushed her long red over her shoulders. Her clothes were strange, like nothing he had ever seen anyone where before. They were fairly loose and made of fabrics Aerrow did not recognize.

"My name's Erin," she replied a few moments later after she had finished studying him, "that Master Cyclonis girl kidnapped me from my home town after school. I can't say when because I don't remember most of being brought here. It would make it easier if I could tell night from day here but there are no windows in these cells."

"I'm Aerrow of the Storm Hawks," Aerrow said, unable to hide the fact that he was overjoyed to have a friend in the awful prison.

"What are these 'Storm Hawks' everyone keeps talking about?" Erin questioned him, a half puzzled, half annoyed look on her face.

"Ya know, the Storm Hawks. The Sky Knight squadron?" Aerrow tried to remind her. Erin just looked more puzzled, "You don't know what a Sky Knight is?" he asked. She shook her head slowly.

"She won't understand you Aerrow. She's not from our world" came the cold voice of Master Cyclonis from just down the hallway. She had been floating so as not to alert the two to her presence but now she was drifting back to the floor.

"What do you mean?" a confused and alarmed Erin spoke up, "how could I possibly be from another world?" She glanced over at Aerrow to see if he would be able to explain this to her, but only an expression of pure hate, directed at Cyclonis, was visible on his features.

"Oh, you didn't figure it out already Erin? I thought the giant doorway that materialized in the middle of your street was a dead giveaway but, oh well, now you know. Welcome to Atmos." Cyclonis cackled loudly as Erin sank back down onto the floor with an expression of sorrow and disbelief on her face.

"Why?" Aerrow growled, "Why would you bring her here?"

"Oh, Aerrow. So nice of you to finally join us. I have my reasons for bringing her into Atmos, you'll understand soon enough. So now that you're awake I'll be sure to send the Dark Ace down right away. He's been looking forward to you regaining consciousness for quite a few hours now so he'll be pleased he can finally see you." She turned to leave but stopped herself and spoke again. "Or," she began, turning to address the two prisoners again, "you could both join Cyclonia."

"In your dreams Cyclonis!" Aerrow retorted, glaring at her through the bars.

Cyclonis sneered and looked to Erin, "What about you?" Erin sat there on the floor looking up at Cyclonis, then over to Aerrow, who was still glaring at Cyclonis. "Well?" Cyclonis asked impatiently, kneeling down close to Erin's face. Erin spat in her face "I'll take that as a no then," Cyclonis growled, wiping the spit from her face, "you'll come to see things my way eventually. Aerrow, the Dark Ace will be here shortly to convince you... another way."

Aerrow grinned at Erin, obviously impressed by her response to Cyclonis' proposal. Erin smiled back. Cyclonis growled and floated up into the air. "You won't be smiling the day I use you to take your precious Storm Hawk friends out" she snarled, pulling a crystal out of her pocket that Aerrow recognized as a hypnosis crystal.

"You're an evil bitch Cyclonis!" Aerrow yelled at her now retreating back. She glanced over her shoulder and smirked at him.

"I know"

* * *

"Approaching Cyclonia" Stork reported as they neared the base of the most dangerous terra in the Atmos. Piper took a deep breath and began to revise the plan with everyone again.

"Okay," Finn interrupted her, "this is the thousandth time Piper; I think we've all got it. I would be regretting saying that we should have the perfect plan but all that's going through my brain at the moment is the plan itself!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Junko asked, looking very confused.

"No Junko, it isn't!" Finn threw his hands up in the air, "instead of thinking about girls or playing my guitar like I usually do, all I can think of is Aerrow and Cyclonia!" Finn dragged his hands down his face in frustration.

"That's sorta weird" Junko commented, Stork nodded in agreement.

"GUYS!" Piper interrupted loudly, "Please! Just humor me okay? I just really want to get Aerrow back." She looked like she might cry again.

Finn sighed and folded his arms across his chest, "Fine let's get it over with then."

"Okay, we know the prisoners on Cyclonia are kept deep under the main part of the terra to make it harder for them to escape. We're going to come up the same way we did that time we were trying to get the Aurora stone back. The Condor will stop under this opening here" she pointed to a marking on the map she had created of the tunnels under Cyclonia from that first visit, "Junko, you and Finn will climb in there and find yourselves disguises by knocking out a coupe of Talons and putting on their uniforms." Junko nodded. Finn just sighed, hating the idea of wearing probably unwashed uniforms. Piper ignored him and continued, "we'll eave your skimmers here and take the Condor to the surface as a distraction while you find Aerrow and get him out." Stork squeaked at the idea of his precious Condor being a distraction and possibly getting destroyed in the process.

It was then that Radarr made his first appearance since he had moped off earlier. His mouth fell open in shock when he looked out the front window and saw where they were. "Radarr," Piper called, "we'll need your help too." Not needing an explanation as to why they were going to Cyclonia, Radarr chirped in agreement. Piper smiled, "go with Junko and Finn. If they get caught, they'll keep the guards occupied while you get Aerrow." Radarr nodded once to say he understood.

Finn spoke next, "Pffft! Like we'll really get caught! Those Cyclonians are so dumb!"

"Whatever Finn," Piper sighed, rolling her eyes.

"We're doomed" Stork added, as usual.

* * *

It had been three hours since they had come to take him. Three hours he had been gone with the Dark Ace. Three hours that Erin had been worrying about the boy she hardly knew. She occasionally heard Dark Ace yelling, probably at Aerrow, but not once did she hear Aerrow scream. In her minds eye she could picture the things the Dark Ace was doing to him and she admired Aerrow's strength throughout it all. She heard the sound of footsteps coming back down the hallway and ran to the bars, desperately trying to see who it was. A Talon was walking Aerrow back to his cell. He looked completely beaten and like he was about to collapse. How he was standing at all was beyond her. The Talon threw Aerrow into his cell, locked the door and walked away again; leaving Aerrow battered and bruised lying on the floor.

"Aerrow," she whispered, "Aerrow!" He looked up from his spot on the floor and saw the look of concern across her face. He forced a smile.

"I'm okay Erin, I've been worse" he remembered the time he'd slipped on the oil Finn had spilt on the floor and broke almost every bone in his body. Erin did not look like she believed him and continued to stare at him. "Really, I'm okay, I promise." He sat up and continued to smile at her through the bars.

"So," Erin started after a minute or so of silence, "you never actually explained to me what a Sky Knight was." Aerrow's grin widened and he began to tell her all about the job of a Sky Knight and about his squadron.

* * *

"Okay, coast is clear." Finn whispered. He had his head sticking out of one of the man holes in the floor. He scrambled out, closely followed by Radarr and then Junko. Piper had left them a couple of hallways away from where Aerrow was being held prisoner. As the other two straightened themselves up, Finn looked around. Yup; everything was going just as planned so far. Finn grinned to himself, Piper was wrong; no way would they be discovered on this mission.

"Hey! You there!" Finn had spoken too soon. Five Talons came around the corner and were now aiming their weapons on them. Junko looked at Finn, "I thought you said the coast was clear!"

"It was!" Finn yelled back, pulling his crossbow from his back. Junko powered up his knuckle busters and motioned to Radarr, "go and find Aerrow!" Radarr nodded and darted away.

Finn fired at two of the Cyclonians, missing one completely but knocking the other out cold. "Dude," he muttered, "I'm losing my touch" Junko just chuckled at him and ran in to punch out another two. The last Talon stood there for a moment before realizing that he was no match for both of them and sprinting off.

"We showed them!" Finn grinned. They moved on to try and catch up with Radarr. They found him trying desperately to open a door. Junko moved Radarr aside and powered up his knuckle busters again.

* * *

"…and then there's Piper, our crystal mage, navigations and tactics specialist. She's a really amazing girl, I think you'd like her" Aerrow grinned. Talking about the people he loved most really made him feel better and Erin was only too happy to listen. She grinned back at her, a grin he'd seen before. She seemed familiar to him somehow but he just couldn't figure out how.

"So, you like Piper?" Erin asked, noticing the softer look that came across his face when he mentioned her. He just looked at her as if she was speaking a different language, "Oh, you don't have to answer if you don't want to I'm just curious."

Aerrow raised his hand to quiet her. "I don't mind at all" he gave her a gentle smile, "to tell you the truth I'd never thought about it, but I guess I do."

"You should tell her, when the team comes to get you I mean" Erin said softly.

"You mean when they rescue _us _right? I'm not going to leave you here" Aerrow stared at her as though she should've known that. Erin could only give a small smile of thanks in response.

"Okay, so we get out of here. Then what? Where do I go? How do I get back home?" she asked. Aerrow already had answers to these questions. You can stay with us on the Condor. There's a spare room you can stay in. Piper will be able to come up with a way for us to send you home again. Don't worry" her grinned at her again, she returned it.

_**BAM!**_

A loud sound echoed down the hallway, startling Erin. Aerrow's grin only widened as he said "the Calvary's arrived." Erin stood up and tried her best to look down the corridor inn the direction of the sound but jumped back again when there was another loud bang and a door came flying past their cells. Aerrow stood up and looked in the direction of the disturbance. Erin watched in silence as a blonde-haired boy, a large rhino-like creature and a small furry blue critter came running through the doorway and down the hall towards them.

"Aerrow! Are you alright?" the Rhino-like one, who Erin recognized as the one Aerrow described earlier as Junko, yelled out as he neared their cells. He stopped in front of them and yanked at the padlock on Aerrow's door, breaking it clean off. Erin stood there with her mouth hanging open in shock.

Aerrow pushed the door open and stepped out of the cell. "Thanks Junko" he said gratefully. The blue creature, who Erin assumed to be Radarr, jumped up onto his shoulder and chirped happily. "Hey buddy!" Aerrow smiled at him.

Erin watched as the three of them reunited with a soft smile on her face; but then she noticed that someone was missing. She looked around to find the blonde boy picking at the lock on her prison and opening the door for her. She couldn't remember his name though. She knew he was the Sharpshooter by the crossbow he was carrying. What had Aerrow said his name was earlier when he described him? It didn't come to her so she just smiled gratefully and went to walk through the door. As she passed him he bowed slightly and said in a really cheesy voice, "Finn, at your service."

Ah, yes, Finn. Now she remembered. "Thanks Finn" she replied. Junko snickered slightly at Finn who glared at him as if to say, 'Dude, shut up!'

"So," Aerrow started, feeling a little humiliated by Finn acting himself inn front of his new friend, "what's the plan?"

"Our skimmers are being left in the underground tunnels," Finn replied, "we're going to meet Stork and Piper back on the Condor up at the surface of the terra and try to make a quick getaway from there… if Stork can lose the Cyclonians" he added.

"That sounds simple enough. Have we got enough room on one of the skimmers for Erin to get out too?" Aerrow asked. Finn, Junko and Radarr all looked at Erin. She just grinned nervously.

Finn grinned widely, "She can ride with me." Erin returned a smile.

Aerrow did not like that idea, "Uh, maybe she should go with Junko." Finn's face fell. Erin giggled at the expression on his face.

"It's okay Aerrow, I'll go with Finn," Erin said happily. Finn's face brightened up again at hearing this, "I'd hate to upset a member of the Storm Hawks. Besides I'd like to see your Sharpshooter in action." Finn did his 'chika-cha' fingers. Aerrow and Radarr just looked at each other in confusion. Did someone who wasn't a Storm Hawk, a girl no less, just volunteer to spend time with Finn?

Junko was oblivious to the expressions on Aerrow and Radarr's faces and the likely danger Erin would soon be in. Instead he just turned to Finn, who was looking very proud of himself, and said "Wow, Finn. There's actually a girl out there who takes an interest in the Sharpshooter instead of the Sky Knight for a change." Finn shot Junko a dangerous glare and Erin suppressed a blush. Aerrow knew that they had to leave before it went any further.

"Okay guys, let's move out!"

"Not so fast Aerrow" Cyclonis's cold voice came from behind him.

* * *

****A/N****

** Dun Dun DUN! Hehe, finally done updating!! Phew! It may be a week or two between updates from here on out. I gotta work on my other fic too. Sorry about any errors I might have made, I tried to fix them all but its hard at 1am when there's a storm outside(makes me wanna sleep).Please submit a review, they make me feel happy and smile :D = like that!!!!!!!!! Thanks for reading!!**


	4. Escape from Cyclonia Pt 3

****A/N****

** It's Time for chapter 4!!! Firstly I would like to thank my lovely readers:**

A SLIGHTLY HUMBLED FAN – _Even though you didn't post a name, I know it can only be Steven who wrote that review… Only you do sarcasm that badly ^_^ Sorry I haven't updated in a while but hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently now. *sigh* I have no life._

COWGIRLS ANGEL RITA – _Thanks for the review! I will be trying my absolute hardest to demonstrate all of the Storm Hawks' skills in this chapter, even Stork XD. I will most definitely keep writing this fic._

NUMBER1STORMHAWKSFAN – _Thank you very muchly! ^_^ I'd never tried it before… I was about to upload and I added that last line on at the last second; I think it made the chapter just that little bit better. Sorry I kept you waiting so long! PLEASE FORGIVE MEEE!! lol, I'm done._

**Okay I'd better get back on with the story or else Steven will send the evil dust bunnies after me for taking too long with the Author's Note….. Don't ask; just know I'm in danger if I don't go on. ON WITH CHAPTER 4!!!!**

* * *

Chapter 4 – Escape From Cyclonia Pt. 3

"And _where_ do you think _you're_ going?" Cyclonis glared coldly at escapees and their accomplices. Finn squeaked and hid behind Junko for protection. Radarr seemed to have frozen on Aerrow's shoulder. Aerrow's eyes narrowed and he glared back at Cyclonis, this was the last person he had wanted to see right now. Cyclonis's glare softened and she smiled; Aerrow felt Erin shift beside him and looked to see her backing away slowly, eyes wide in terror. He quickly grabbed her hand and squeezed it to reassure her. Erin stopped backing away but kept a firm hold on Aerrow's hand and her eyes fixed on Cyclonis.

Cyclonis's loud witch-like cackle echoed throughout the hall as she watched the terrified girl standing before her. "You would honestly lower yourself and side with these Storm Hawks? How pathetic. If you were smart you would surrender yourself and join Cyclonia," the Sorceress's expression darkened somewhat, "this is your last chance Erin. Aerrow, I'd offer you the same thing but you've become too much of a nuisance for me to even consider your redemption; you will be severely punished later on. It's a good thing that you didn't accept earlier, I wouldn't want a Talon like you in the quadrant; you're a sad excuse for a Sky Knight."

Erin didn't know what came over her, she felt as if she had been insulted even though Cyclonis had directed her words at Aerrow. Erin lashed out with her free hand and delivered a quick but powerful punch into Cyclonis's face. She heard a loud _crunch_ pulled her hand back to find it covered in the witch's blood. Cyclonis screeched as the blood covered her face, she immediately whipped her head back to face her foe, blood pouring from her now broken nose. Erin just stared at her hand, 'did I just do that?' she thought to herself. She glanced at Aerrow beside her to find him staring at her in disbelief. Radarr, still on Aerrow's shoulder, let his jaw drop; even Aerrow didn't have the guts to do that! Finn and Junko were also equally as amused. Finn was mirroring Aerrow's expression of shock exactly. "Dude," he whispered, "about time someone did that." Erin glanced over her shoulder at him and gave a nervous grin.

Cyclonis screeched again in anger and raised her staff up in front of her, "You'll go first you little bitch!" The crystal attached to the end of her staff began to glow. Aerrow moved quickly and stepped in front of Erin to protect her from harm. Cyclonis was about to blast them when another staff hit her over the back of the head and she fell to the ground revealing a smirking Piper standing behind her.

"Piper!" Aerrow shouted, grinning from ear to ear, unable to hide his excitement at seeing the Crystal Mage. Erin sighed in relief and released Aerrow's hand.

"C'mon! Stork has the Condor keeping the Cyclonians distracted but it won't last for long!" Piper hollered. Aerrow and Junko immediately took off after Piper. Erin stared at the unconscious Cyclonis lying on the floor for a moment before Finn grabbed her hand and pulled her away in the direction the others had just gone.

* * *

Back on the Condor things were getting seriously out of hand. The glass on the windscreen was cracked, the pipes were breaking and misting up the bridge with steam, the Cyclonians were blasting the ship to pieces and that blasted alarm had been going off for ages now and it was getting on Stork's last nerve.

"Just once could you SHUT UP and NOT break every time something bigger than a bug hits you?" Stork shouted at the run down cruiser. He tightened his grip on the controls as he forced the ship to go faster, earning a loud groaning sound as the engines struggled to hold together. Stork's eye twitched as the Condor started to lurch forward. He lost his temper and picked up a wrench from the floor and threw it at the flashing light that was shielding the alarm itself, destroying it. At least now it was quiet.

He returned his attention to the helm and the larger problem at hand. He switched off the engines and dropped below the clouds towards the wastelands in an almost vertical dive. The engines only needed a few moments to reboot and they would run a little more smoothly… for a while. The steam in the room was thinning now that there was nothing running and it was becoming easier to see. Stork watched as the Cyclonian Talons around him retreated as he neared the fiery wastelands, smirking. 'Cowards' he thought.

Dodging the many obstacles of the wastelands with no engines did not prove to be an easy task for Stork. The steam had now completely disappeared eliminating that problem, but it was still hard to maneuver around the numerous rocks and lava spouts when the Condor was slowing more and more every second; eventually Stork had to restart the ship. It roared to life and Stork ducked back up above the clouds. As soon as the ship was level again, he quickly ran around tying any cloths or rags he could find around the burst pipes before the Cyclonians realized he was there. Unfortunately, just before he finished he was thrown across the room into the already cracked window, increasing the size of the already large fracture. He swore under his breath as he stood and darted back to the helm.

"That hurt!" he growled as he began to fire on the Cyclonians.

* * *

"Aerrow!" Finn called from down the hallway. He was standing over their escape point waiting for the Aerrow to catch them up. Junko had helped Erin and Piper down into the underground tunnel and the three of them were now waiting by the skimmers. Aerrow came running around the corner toward Finn at that moment carrying a green backpack and his energy blades.

Finn jumped down into the tunnel and was closely followed by Aerrow. When their feet hit the floor of the tunnel, Finn paused for a moment to give Aerrow an odd look. "What?" Aerrow asked defensively, "I wanted them back!" he had placed the energy blades into the holsters on his back.

"What's the bag for?" Finn questioned.

"I'm guessing its Erin's. It was the only other thing locked away there." He turned to show the green bag to Erin who looked absolutely delighted to see it. Aerrow passed it to her before getting onto his Skimmer. Erin had completely forgotten about her backpack; it must have been taken off her when she had been captured and locked away. She threw the bag onto her back and followed Finn to his Skimmer. It was strange to her to see these things. Aerrow hadn't been very good at describing Skimmers to her earlier so she had no idea what to expect. To her they looked a lot like motorcycles with metal wings tucked away to the sides, much like a bird's. The wings had silver metal emblem of a hawk, Erin assumed was the Storm Hawks insignia. Erin hesitated for a moment before joining Finn on the Skimmer; her mother would definitely not approve of this. Junko was on his Skimmer and Piper was on her Heliscooter. Aerrow had also been unsuccessful in explaining a Heliscooter to Erin. It looked a bit like a moped which had a larger wheel at the back than at the front and it too bore the Storm Hawks crest. Erin could see how the other Skimmers would fly, but how would the Heliscooter? She couldn't see anything to help it in any way, shape or form.

The Storm Hawks all powered up their rides. Aerrow gave one last worried look to Erin before taking off down the tunnel. He was obviously still having trouble with her being on the same Skimmer as the worst pilot in their squadron. Finn revved his Skimmer's engine a couple of times before taking off after Aerrow, scaring Erin half to death as she quickly grabbed a hold of him. Piper and Junko followed closely behind.

A loud 'Clang' echoed down the tunnel and the Storm Hawks all glanced over their shoulders to see a pissed off Cyclonis flying through the air after them.

"How in the world did she get down here so fast?" Piper exclaimed. She grabbed her staff from behind her and turned her scooter around to face Cyclonis, "I'll hold her off, you guys get out!"

"Piper-" Aerrow began to protest.

"I mean it Aerrow! Get Erin and the others out of here!" Piper yelled as she turned back to face Cyclonis. Erin watched as Piper sent an explosion of light from the crystal attached to her staff straight at Cyclonis, missing by only a couple of centimeters. Erin felt the Skimmer she was sitting on rev and she clung to Finns waist a little tighter. She glanced over at Aerrow, who looked uneasy about leaving a fellow team member and his love interest behind.

Finn called out to him, "Aerrow, Let's get out of here. Piper will be fine." Aerrow sighed and nodded in agreement. He and Junko began to make their way further down the tunnel.

"Are you sure she'll be okay?" Erin asked Finn fearfully.

"Although I hate to admit it, Piper is probably the best fighter I've ever seen; besides Aerrow that is" Finn reassured her as he revved the engine and followed after the other two boys. Erin glanced over her shoulder to see Piper aiming another blast at Cyclonis.

* * *

Stork was standing at the helm of the Condor cackling madly. All of the Skimmers carrying the Cyclonian Talons were now scattered across the floors of the wastelands and the Talons themselves floating downward on parachutes.

"Nobody messes with _my_ ship!" he yelled before continuing his laughing fit.

* * *

"Aerrow look out!" Junko yelled. Aerrow narrowly dodged an arrow by about an inch. He looked ahead to see Ravess and Snipe blocking their path on their Skimmers. Erin's grip around Finn tightened drastically and he placed a hand on hers to comfort her.

"Don't worry," he smiled over his shoulder to her, "we've beaten these guys' loads of times before." Erin looked to Junko for confirmation. He gave her a huge smile while powering up his knuckle busters. Erin gave a nervous grin. "Here," Finn passed her his crossbow, "I've got one fitted into my Skimmer. If you can aim at 'em, hit 'em" he gave her an encouraging smile.

Erin stared at the crossbow in her hands. "I've never done anything like this!" she exclaimed, "what if I can't do it?" the smile on Finn's face widened.

"I'm sure you'll be able to get a few good shots. Snipe isn't exactly easy to miss. Just so you know, he's the big guy with the mace; his sister Ravess is the one with the bow and arrows. I'm surprised the Dark Ace isn't-" he stopped speaking then as the Dark Ace's Skimmer appeared behind Snipe and Ravess, "Oh, there he is." Aerrow shot Finn a look that said 'oh you just had to say it, didn't you?'

"No escaping this time Aerrow" the Dark Ace growled as he drew his blade from its holster.

"You know, you say that a lot and you still get your ass kicked" Aerrow remarked as he too drew his blades. The Dark Ace glowered at Aerrow and charged at him. Erin panicked and fired on the Dark Ace. The crystal tipped arrow flew straight into the Dark Ace's tire, sending him flying through the air and landing him head first on the ground near Aerrow's Skimmer.

Aerrow looked around at Finn grinning gratefully. Finn just shook his head and pointed at Erin, who was still holding the crossbow in front of her and staring at the Dark Ace's now mangled Skimmer. She snapped out of it when she felt several eyes on her and looked up to see Aerrow, Radarr, Junko and Finn smiling at her. She could see that they were still just as shocked as she was. She grinned back cheerfully.

"I told you that you could do it!" Finn exclaimed, slapping her on the back.

"Heh, somehow that was much easier than usual" Aerrow grinned smugly over at the Dark Ace, who was picking himself up off the floor. He grasped his blade tightly before swinging it at Aerrow. Aerrow was too quick and met the blade in the air with his own blades.

The Dark Ace yelled, "Snipe! Ravess! What are you doing? Get over here and help me!" The two siblings snarled and sped forward on their Skimmers towards the Storm Hawks. Junko, as per usual, took on Snipe. Erin felt something fly quickly past her ear and looked around to see Ravess smiling evilly at her and Finn.

"You may be able to take out the Dark Ace with a lucky shot girl, but I am not as easy. This will be a simple victory for me though."

"Hey!" Finn shouted, insulted, "I'm still here you know!" He aimed and fired on Ravess. She shot at him at the same time. Erin ducked as Ravess' arrow burned straight through Finn's and toward them. Finn swerved out of the way, slimly missing the arrow. Erin aimed a second shot, this time at her own attacker. She pulled the trigger and closed her eyes, hoping that it would hit Ravess so that they had one less enemy to battle. She opened her eyes again at the sound of Ravess cackling. She had missed by at least a meter and had hit the wall behind her target. Finn glanced quickly at Erin before aiming his own weapon at Ravess once more. "Never close your eyes" he said softly before he fired a single shot on the still cackling Cyclonian, hitting her squarely in the chest; she toppled off her Skimmer and onto the cold ground, unconscious. "Chika-cha!" Finn cried out, very please with himself.

Erin rolled her eyes, "show off…"

A loud cry echoed around the tunnel as Snipe left his fight with Junko to aid his fallen sister. He hoisted her onto his Skimmer before speeding off to get her some medical attention. He completely forgot that he was supposed to be helping the Dark Ace fight off the Storm Hawks. The Dark Ace watched as his fellow Cyclonian fled down the tunnel.

"Snipe, get back here you idiot!" he yelled to no avail. Snipe rounded a corner and was gone. Realizing that he was outnumbered, the Dark Ace retreated from his battle with Aerrow and mounted Ravess' Skimmer.

"You got lucky this time Storm Hawks" he growled before speeding down the tunnel in the same direction as Snipe. Junko screwed up his face in confusion.

"Lucky? Is it just me or are the Cyclonians getting stupider? Finn totally nailed that shot at Ravess which ruled Snipe out of the fight too." Radarr chirped in agreement with Junko. Finn crossed his arms, gave a cheesy grin and went to lie back on his Skimmer. He sat up again quickly when he realized he was lying on Erin. They both had to suppress a blush as the others all laughed.

They all stopped laughing as the sound of an engine was heard. They turned around to see Piper speeding toward them.

"Guys! Get going now! Cyclonis is unconscious again but I don't know for how long!" She hollered as she raced by them. All of the guys took off quickly in the same direction as Piper. If Cyclonis woke again before they were clear of Cyclonia, they would be in serious trouble; nobody likes being knocked out once let alone twice.

After travelling through various tunnels for what seemed like forever, they finally saw their exit. As they neared it, Erin heard a loud fog-horn-like sound. She glanced up and saw what appeared to be a large flying ship lowering down from above to meet them. As none of the others seemed to panic, she assumed it wasn't an enemy ship. "Hey Finn," she whispered into his ear, "What is that?"

Finn smirked at her over his shoulder, "that's the Condor, our home." Erin had been told briefly of the Condor earlier by Aerrow, but it didn't even come to mind when she was trying to identify it. As the sky rides got close to the end of the tunnel, Erin noticed that there was no ground for them to get safely to the Condor; she was finally going to see how these things flew!

They drove straight over the edge of the end of the tunnel and went into a slight freefall for about a second before Finn pulled a lever and deployed the wings. Junko did the same while Radarr took care of Aerrow's. Piper pulled a lever on her Heliscooter and a propeller came out from behind her and began spinning above her and her back wheel became another propeller behind her. 'So that's how it works' Erin thought. She took a moment to take in the feeling of flying through the air; she so happy to be free of the Cyclonian prison, she was even glad to be free of her life back on Earth.

The four Skimmers landed smoothly in the hangar bay of the Condor and came to a halt at the far end. They all felt the Condor shifting and assumed they were all being piloted away from Cyclonia now. Erin sighed in relief at finally being safe. Finn held out his hand to help her off the Skimmer and she smiled as she took it.

"I can't believe we actually got out of that!" she cried out happily, "it was actually a lot of fun too!" Aerrow walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You know I still haven't properly introduced you to my squadron," he grinned and Erin mirrored him, "you already know Finn," Finn winked at her, "as you may have guessed, the big guy is Junko," Junko smiled and waved shyly, "my buddy Radarr," he motioned to Radarr who gave a lively chirp, "and of course, Piper" Piper waved and stepped forward.

"I am so glad that there is finally another girl here! Not that I don't like the guys but it's sometimes nice to talk to other girls, you know?" Piper was smiling so widely.

Erin nodded in agreement, "yeah, I completely understand that!" they both giggled quietly. Radarr's facial features turned to panic as he remembered the last time they had brought another girl onto their ship. Lark (aka. Cyclonis) and Piper spent the entire time giggling and carrying on.

Aerrow noticed his friend's panic and tried to comfort him, "I've spent the last few days with this girl, Radarr, and she's not really the type to act like that all the time. She's probably just still sad and confused."

Finn decided to interrupt the two girls and change the subject, "You know there's an incredible resemblance between Aerrow and Erin." Said two teenagers stared at each other.

Piper moved them both so that they were shoulder to shoulder, "They have the same hair colour obviously, but their eyes are the same too. Same complexion as well! You two are like twins."

"Well," Erin began, "where I come from we always say that everybody has a twin out there somewhere."

"Where are you from?" Junko asked curiously. Before Erin could answer, Stork came rushing into the hangar bay.

"Okay, we're clear of the Cyclonians for now. I'm off to enjoy a nice swamp bat-" he cut himself short as he saw Erin standing here, "who is this? How do you know she's not carrying any… deadly diseases?" He walked over to her to examine her properly, "You look so much like Aerrow. This must be some kind of Cyclonian spy! You're here to infect us with mind worms!"

Aerrow planted his face in his palm. "No Stork," he put on a small smile and grabbed Stork by the shoulder, "This is Erin, she was captured from Cyclonis from her home on a different world. What did you say it was called again?" he addressed Erin now.

"Earth" she replied.

"Dude, maybe you should check both her and Aerrow for mind worms" Finn looked genuinely worried, as did the others.

"It's true," Aerrow exclaimed, "I didn't believe it at first either but Cyclonis said it herself and I believed Erin when she confirmed it."

"Wow! How did she do it?" Piper was interested now.

"I don't really remember. She attacked me on my way home from school and pushed me through a giant doorway she conjured in mid-air. I only remember a few bits and pieces from there" Erin replied. Even Finn and Junko looked interested now. Radarr just felt sorry for her.

"If its okay with the rest of you, I've offered for Erin to stay with us until we find a way to get her back home" Aerrow spoke up. All the others, with the exception of Piper, nodded.

"But Aerrow, the spare room is taken up with supplies at the moment. The only spare place is on the second bunk in your room" Piper explained.

"Then I guess she'll have to stay there. You don't mind Erin?" Aerrow asked.

Erin shook her head, "Not at all."

"Then it's settled. We finally get a hot chick to live with us!" Finn said happily. Erin turned almost the same colour as her hair. As everyone else began chattering away excitedly with Erin, Aerrow pulled Finn aside.

"Don't even think about it Finn" he whispered.

* * *

****A/N****

**Phew! It's finally done! I've got to say I'm not too happy with it but it's just taken too long. I'll begin working on Chapter 5 RIGHT NOW!!!! From here there won't be **_**too**_** much fighting for a little while… but there will be towards the end of the story. Anyhoo, I must be off now, I have to start the next chappie for you all! :D Please R&R!**


	5. Home Sweet Condor

****A/N****

** Woo! Chapter 5 is up now! Thanks for reviewing guys.**

AMETHYST – _I'm not sure I understand the sigh when you're referring to Finn… thanks for reviewing though. I do have a reason for Cyclonis wanting Erin more than the Storm Hawks………… but you'll have to read a few more chapters yet to find out! ^_^ sorry!_

COWGIRLS ANGEL RITA – _Yeah, Piper rocks aye. YAY! ISN'T BEING HYPER FUN?!?!?! Haha! Thanks for the review, I'll try to update soon._

SABREWOLFEROS – _lol, those mind worms are tricksy little buggers. I might have to have someone get infected later on aye? Then it'll be Stork to the rescue! Thanks very much for the kind message darl._

**Also I just wanted to thank you all for reading, it means so much to me *wipes tear from eye* I love you guys!!! ^_^**

**By the way, the writing between the *'s is a memory thing, just so ya'll know.**

* * *

Chapter 5 – Home Sweet Condor

Erin walked slowly into the dark tiled, bathroom. 'Communal bathrooms, just great' she thought to herself as she crossed the room and placed the clean white towel Aerrow had provided her with on the counter and stopped to stare herself in the mirror. Her hair was no longer bright and shinning, her pale skin had been completely covered in a fine layer of dirt and she felt plain disgusting. She stared at her tattered and torn clothes. From what she could remember she had been wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of faded jeans; but now they were so dirty that even she was having a difficult time remembering their original appearance. Her black sneakers seemed to be the only thing unchanged; even her socks were completely filthy.

It was then that Erin realized that she didn't have anything to change into. She sighed in frustration, this was just perfect. As if on cue, a soft knocking was heard at the door. Erin turned around as Piper strolled in carrying a neatly folded pile of clothes and a pair of boots.

"Thought you might need these," she smiled graciously. Erin sighed again, this time in relief as Piper placed the boots on the floor and the fresh clothing on the counter next to her towel.

"Thank you so much Piper," Erin replied to the dark haired girl politely, "I don't know what I would do without another girl around." She turned around to face the showers. They weren't completely exposing, they had small dividers between each of them that sat at about the average person's neck height and a door into the cubical matching it. Even though it wasn't as bad as Erin had feared, she still felt uneasy about it.

Piper seemed to sense her discomfort and spoke up, "don't worry, the boys rarely come in here, with the exception of Aerrow; and Stork has his own bathroom so that he can have his swamp baths. Finn and Junko aren't as hygienic as the rest of us would like them to be." Erin laughed a little. That made her feel a little better about using the showers, however it made her feel a little more unwilling to hang around Junko and Finn. "I'll leave you to it" Piper waved as she exited the bathroom, leaving Erin alone.

Erin picked up her towel and headed over to the nearest cubical. She closed the door behind her and checked quickly to make sure nobody else was there before she slipped off her shoes and then the rest of her ragged clothing. She hung her clothes and her towel over the door and turned on the water. As she stepped under the hot water she hummed happily. She watched the dirt from her body washed away and let her mind wander.

* * * *

After a few minutes of chatting with her new friends, Aerrow pulled her aside and offered to give her a quick tour of the Condor before dinner.

"It's not fair," she heard Finn whine as they left the room; "Aerrow always gets the girls! When's it my turn?" Erin heard Piper start to answer him but it was blurred when the door shut. She looked at Aerrow, who had his face buried in his palm as he was walking.

"Are you okay Aerrow?" Erin asked, concerned he might be feeling unwell. Aerrow obviously hadn't noticed what he was doing and sprung his head back up to reply.

"Yeah, I'm okay, but good grief that sharpshooter of mine gives me a headache." He rubbed his temples, attempting to lessen the soreness.

Erin gave a small, embarrassed blush, "I think he's kind of cute." Aerrow looked horrified. Who in their right mind would think Finn was… _cute_? He struggled even thinking that word.

"Don't let Stork hear you say that, he'll convince himself that you have some sort of infectious disease and spray you with all kinds of anti-Atmos-knows-what repellent… and take it from me, that's not fun" Aerrow cringed at the memory. Erin laughed loudly as he led her to the bridge, pointing out various rooms as they passed them. Finally they walked through the door to the bridge.

"Wow!" Erin exclaimed at the sight in front of her. As they were now out of Cyclonian territory, the skies were bright and clear once again. Erin ran to the large windscreen and took in the scenery. They were flying way above the clouds and the bright afternoon sun was skimming over them and making them shimmer in the light. Aerrow wandered up beside her and stared out at the clouds as well. "So this is where you live?" Erin asked.

"Yeah," he replied, "pretty cool, huh?" Erin nodded her head slowly.

"It's amazing."

* * * *

Erin washed the conditioner out of her hair and scrubbed the last of the dirt off her body. She reluctantly stopped the flow of water pouring over her head and reached for her towel. It felt great to finally be clean again. After her short tour around the ship, Erin had desperately wanted a shower. Aerrow had said he was going to help with dinner preparations so as to spare Erin from eating Junko's cooking on her first night there. Erin snickered as she recalled the look on the Wallop's face, but she still felt bad for him.

After she had finished drying herself off, she wrapped the towel around herself and exited the cubical. She picked up her old clothes and placed them on the counter. She picked up the clothes that Piper had left for her and unfolded them. It was uniform much like Piper's but it was the same colours as Aerrow's and didn't have the Storm Hawks emblem on the back. The boots were the same colour as the rest of the Storm Hawks'. A small smile grew on Erin's face as she tried on the new garments. She pulled on the boots and stepped back to admire her new look in the mirror. While the tight clothes were something she would have to get used to, she thought she looked pretty good. She did a couple of twirls in front of the mirror but stopped abruptly when she heard a low whistle from behind her.

Eye's wide, she turned around to face Finn who was leaning against the door. "Looking good" he flirted playfully.

"H-how long have you been standing there?" Erin asked shakily.

"Only like a minute. Don't worry, I didn't see anything" he added with a roll of his eyes. Erin was still blushing lightly as he made his way over and sat on the counter next to where Erin was standing. "I'm not as horrible people seem to think you know."

Erin saw the blonde's face fall and he looked as though he were about to cry. "I'm sorry Finn," she whispered, "I didn't mean to give off the impression I thought you were like that, because I don't. I think you're pretty cool actually." Finn's face perked up a little at hearing this and he flashed a smile.

"Thanks," he said softly, "It's just, people never try to get to know me before they judge me is all. I may be a real goof but it doesn't mean I'm not a good person. It's really nice to have someone who actually thinks I'm okay for a change."

Erin went and sat down on the counter beside him. "Well, I can't see what's not to like. You're kind, energetic and fun to be around… and I know this after only meeting you a few hours ago!" Erin exclaimed.

Finn smirked, "I'm glad you're staying here for a while. It'll be cool to have someone to hang out with."

"Well maybe we can play guitar together," Erin laughed.

Finn got excited, "you can play?" Erin nodded in reply before jumping back off the counter, giving Finn a friendly slap on the shoulder and walking toward the door.

"Dinner should be almost ready. Race ya to the kitchen!" she called from the door before racing down the hallway.

"Hey!" Finn called, "You got a head start! No fair dude!" he jumped up and bolted after Erin.

* * *

"Shit!" Aerrow quickly pulled his hand away from the saucepan he had just attempted to pick up after burning himself. He glared angrily at the lightly bubbling pasta sauce still sitting on the stove. He walked quickly over to the sink and ran the cold water over his burnt palm. Everything in the kitchen seemed to have it out for him today; first he cut his finger when he was cutting the onions for the pasta sauce, then one of the appliance draws he was sure he had closed opened and tripped him up and he hit the floor face first (there was a nice bump on his forehead serving as a reminder), and now he had burnt himself. He growled angrily at himself, normally he was way better than this in the kitchen. He was brought back to reality when he heard a familiar laugh from behind him.

He turned around to see Piper strolling across the kitchen with a huge grin plastered on her face. He felt her eyes looking over his various injuries. Aerrow wished he could have just died of embarrassment right then.

"What in the world happened to you?" Piper asked, trying to suppress a giggle. All Aerrow could do was put on an embarrassed smile, this was the last person he wanted to see him like this. Piper walked over and joined him at the sink and took his burnt hand in hers, examining it. Aerrow felt his heart jump at her touch and his breathing got a little heavier. Thankfully, Piper didn't seem to notice. She dropped his hand and walked over to a high shelf to reach a first aid box. After pulling it down, she motioned for him to sit down at the table; he obliged. As she took out some ointment and a bandage, she addressed Aerrow again, "so are you going to tell me what happened?"

Aerrow chuckled a little, "just a few ordinary kitchen accidents, nothing to worry about." Piper gave him an 'I don't believe you' look before continuing dressing his injured hand.

"You know, you get more injuries than anyone I've ever known. That's why I do worry about you Aerrow, I'm afraid one day it may not just be a little accident," she shook her head, "I care about you too much not to worry." Aerrow reluctantly pulled his hand away as she finished bandaging his hand. Piper continued to stare down at the table. Aerrow used his other hand to bring her chin up so that he could see her face.

"Piper, it's me. What could possibly happen?" he smiled as he pulled her over to him and into a hug, "thanks though." It was a few moments before he realized what he was doing. He was finally able to hug the girl of his dreams. He didn't even realize that he was holding her for close to a minute before Piper started to pull away.

She gave him a big smile and said, "You'd better check on dinner Aerrow, I think it's burning."

"Shit!" he yelled for the second time.

* * *

After dinner, Erin followed Aerrow back to his room. The walk, although only short, seemed to take forever. Aerrow slowed down to walk beside Erin. "So what do you think of my squadron?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

Erin thought back on dinner. She had learned so much about everyone in that small amount of time. "Well," she began, "I really like Piper, just like you said, and Finn of course; but I'd like to get to know the others better. Stork seems okay, but he kind of scares me with his constant talking about mind worms and what not. Radarr is hard not to like, he's so cute. Junko seems sweet but he didn't talk much during dinner."

"Maybe you should spend some time with the guys then," Aerrow suggested, "although, our idea of fun is combat practice." Erin smirked at this.

"Maybe I should join in then. I wouldn't mind learning how to drop Finn" she punched the air as she spoke for emphasis.

Aerrow chuckled, "I'm sure that won't be too hard." He and Erin laughed until they came to his room. He pressed the release for the door and stepped aside to allow Erin to enter first. The room was the same colour as the rest of the ship and fairly small. The only things in the room were the bunk beds, a small dresser and a picture of the Storm Hawks mounted on the wall. Aerrow hand taken her bag earlier when she had gone to shower and it was now sitting on top of the dresser.

"I don't mind which bunk you choose," Aerrow said as he stepped into the room after Erin, "and Piper put some clothes in the top draw of the dresser for you." Erin walked over and sat on the lower bunk.

"Thanks," she said softly in reply, "you guys have all been so good to me. You really didn't have to go through all this trouble."

Aerrow crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame casually, "It's because we like you, and because we want to help you. Besides, as a Sky Knight, how could I not help someone who needs it?" Erin smiled and stood up again and crossed the room. She threw her arms around Aerrow and gave him a friendly hug.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"No problem," he replied, patting her lightly on the back, "just think of the Condor as your home for now, okay?" he felt her nod into his shoulder. "So now all we have to figure out is a way to get you back home," he continued as Erin pulled away, "and I'd also like to know why Cyclonis brought you here inn the first place."

"Fine, but only after you have a shower" Erin teased, "you stink!" Aerrow shoved her away playfully, a grin plastered to his face.

* * *

Ravess groaned loudly as she finally came too. She opened her eyes and looked around to see she had been moved to her bedroom. Her eyes fell on a relieved Snipe and a rather peeved looking Cyclonis standing next to her bed.

"M-Master," she whispered, "I f-failed you. I'm so sorry."

Cyclonis snarled, "It's those Storm Hawks who are to blame, Ravess. I will personally see to it they get what they deserve this time."

"And, ah, what about that brat girl they took with them?" Snipe spoke up, "don't you need her back too?" Cyclonis nodded slowly.

"Yes, she is the key to the Storm Hawks undoing. It's only a matter of time before they figure that out for themselves."

Ravess looked confused (well, so did Snipe, but he always does). "Master Cyclonis, how exactly do you know that she will be able to rid us of them?"

"Let's just say, it's in her blood" Cyclonis grinned evilly.

* * *

Finn sighed heavily as he lay on the roof of the Condor, staring at the stars. It had been a big day, with the rescue mission, the arrival of their new guest and the various chores he had to complete on a daily basis. His mind drifted to Erin. This was the first girl he had met in a while that wanted to actually talk to him and he didn't want to just ogle at. She was definitely something different. Aerrow had forbidden him from making any moves on her. When he asked why, Aerrow replied with, "she's not just any girl Finn, she's from another world. I don't want her feeling uncomfortable around us when you decide you're done with her and I most definitely don't want her to go home unhappy."

"Yeah, well you get to sleep in the same room as her. Tell me that's not making moves" he muttered to himself. He heard a small shuffle from behind him and looked around to see Piper walking over to him.

As she sat down beside him she asked, "Girl troubles?"

"Pffft, not likely," Finn rolled his eyes at her, "very funny Piper." Finn turned his head away from her but he could still feel her gaze on the back of his head. He remained staring off into the distance for several minutes until her eyes seemed to start burning his skull. "Okay," he sighed in defeat, "I think I may sort of like Erin" he said quickly, he waited for Piper to start laughing. When she didn't, he continued, "The only problem is, Aerrow's forbidden me from making any moves on her. It's not fair. This is the first girl I've liked for more than just looks and I can't even take her on a date to get to know her better."

Piper was silent for a moment but eventually smiled and put a hand on Finn's shoulder, "This is very out of character for you Finn. I'm actually proud of you" she said, Finn didn't know whether to be happy or insulted but listened on anyway, "you've only known her for twelve or so hours so don't push it, but I think you should maybe take her somewhere on a date but disguise it as just showing her around Atmos. If she likes you, she might make a move on you first; technically, you haven't disobeyed Aerrow then." Piper was smiling now.

Finn raised an eyebrow at her, "Piper, are you actually suggesting I don't listen to Aerrow?" Piper raised a finger to her lips and giggled in reply. "Okay," he said, "I'll take Erin out and 'show her around Atmos', if you'll stop pretending you're just friends with the guy and ask him out already."

Piper blushed deeply, "how did you know about that?" Finn stood and dusted himself off and went to leave.

"I'm Finn, I just know these things" he chuckled as he walked away.

* * *

****A/N****

** Hmm, not the best chapter but it'll do for now at least. I'll hopefully be able to finish the next chapter over the weekend but I can't make any promises. Not really a cliff hanger either is it? Except for maybe the part with Cyclonis and that… I'll re-write it if you guys think I should. Please review!!!!**


	6. Get It Over With

****A/N****

** I am SOOOOOOO sorry for the wait everyone. I got a new job recently and its been keeping me a bit busy. I will be trying harder than ever to update more frequently (that means most of my spare time from here on out) for you guys. I also have another fic I'm being pestered about. I'll have to update that before I start Chapter 7, sorry :( Okay, there's my sad excuse.... ON WITH THE STORY!!!!! :) :) :)**

** I don't own SH but I created Erin... she's mine! :)**

* * *

Chapter 6 – Get It Over With

Finn paced back and forth in his room. It was the day after he had spoken to Piper about his feelings for Erin. Piper had later agreed to talk to Aerrow about how she felt only after Finn asked Erin out. She seemed very confident in saying that, as though she knew Finn would chicken out... this made him even more determined.

It wasn't an easy task asking someone on a date, even though it wasn't really a date. The thought of it made his stomach cramp up. What if she said no? What if she didn't like him in the same way? What if? What if? The questions swirled around in Finn's head making him pace faster out of anxiety. Not only would it be hard to ask Erin out, but it would be difficult, if not impossible to slip this past Aerrow.

Finn stopped pacing and glared at the floor. This was going to be harder than he had anticipated. He groaned loudly, feeling his brain about to melt out of frustration. Wandering over to his bed he let out a loud sigh before collapsing face first into his pillow. Why was he so afraid of the consequences for once? Aerrow wasn't that scary. Besides, in the end it was down to him and Erin. Finn rolled over and stared at the rivets in the ceiling.

'_Guess I just need to get it over with_' he thought to himself, '_just do it quickly, like taking off a band-aid. The worst that can happen is that she can say no or Aerrow gives you a couple of extra chores as punishment for disobeying him._'

Finn smiled to himself. Now that he thought of it like that, it didn't seem so hard. A minute or so later he sat up slowly and forced himself to stand. His body hadn't quite caught up with his mind on the whole confidence thing yet so his legs felt like jelly. They just about collapsed under him when he heard a quiet knock on his door followed by a soft, feminine voice.

"Finn, you there?" Erin asked. Finn was barely able to hear what she was saying through the door but he most definitely recognised her voice.

"C-coming," he replied nervously. So much for feeling confident. It took him a moment to find his legs again and begin to carry himself to the door. Upon pressing the release for the door, it flew open to reveal a rather concerned and nervous looking girl. "Hey Erin, what's up?" he asked, trying to sound as confident as ever.

Erin shuffled on the spot little, "Well, you didn't show up for breakfast this morning. I thought something might be wrong. I was... I was worried." Finn smirked, no wonder he was so hungry, he had been locked in his room all morning thinking about her. He stepped aside, allowing her to enter his room. "I know it sounds a little silly but the others told me it really wasn't like you to skip any meal so I volunteered to check in on you.' Erin continued as she passed him and went to stand over by his dresser.

Finn grinned widely as he walked over to his bed and sat down. "Nothing's wrong," he assured her, "nothing the Finnster can't handle," he winked at her. He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't buying it. "There's just something I need to do and I'm trying to find the best way to go about it." he rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke.

"Anything I can help with?" Erin asked. Finn sighed, how could he do this? He didn't want to come off too strong and scare her off. Oh well, he was going to have to talk to her about this eventually anyway. He moved along his bed and motioned for Erin to sit beside him. As he looked up at her, he noticed he bright green eyes watching and listening to him intently, an expression of interest upon her face. She was here now and paying all of her attention to him. He stared down at his lap. 'forget the 'outing'' he thought to himself, 'just ask her on a proper date and deal with Aerrow later. It's now or never Finn.'

He took a deep breath and looked up again into Erin's eyes. They were so warm and full of light that they just made him want to smile. "I'm not sure how to word this, so can you promise not to get mad if it comes out wrong?"

Erin smiled and reached out, taking his hand in hers comfortingly, "promise."

'_damn it! She isn't making this easier!_' Finn felt his face grow warm. "Okay," he started, he took another deep breath before continuing, "I... wanted to ask you, if you would maybe... want to go out with me?" he watched as Erin's eyes grew a little in shock. Before she had time to react or reply, Finn began speaking again, "I know we haven't known each other long, but I think you're pretty cool and I'd really like to get to know you better." he felt his face growing hotter by the second. Erin stared at him for a moment, overcome with shock before looking over at the opposite wall.

Not knowing what else to do at that moment, Erin squeezed Finn's hand gently. She definitely hadn't seen that coming. She was always the quiet girl in school. Nobody had ever really paid attention to her. The fact that this was the first boy to ever show any interest in her was making the situation even more surprising. Glancing back at Finn she could see a look of concern upon his face. Sure she thought Finn was cool and pretty good looking... and she did like him, but did she really want to go there? She thought of Aerrow, would he approve of this? Noticing Finn's face falling again, Erin decided it was time to make a decision. She leaned her shoulder against his and smiled, "So where do you have in mind for a first date?"

Finn's face picked up. "Really?"

Erin giggled, "Really." Finn laughed a little too. "So what's you're favourite place to go then 'Finnster'?" she mocked him. He grinned at her happily, loving that someone was finally calling him by his self-proclaimed nickname.

"To tell you the truth, I hadn't really thought that far ahead. I spent all morning worrying about what'd happen if you said no, I didn't even consider the other scenario," Finn replied. He thought for a moment before remembering the number one place he loved to visit. "How about Terra Neon?" he suggested, shrugging.

"Terra Neon?" Erin raised her eyebrows, "you're going to have to remember, I don't know anything about Atmos yet." Finn flushed a shade of pink again, how could he forget? Erin giggled again as she placed a cool hand on the side of his face, "you have to stop all this blushing Finn, you're almost the same colour as my hair!"

* * *

"What?!" Piper dropped her mind reading crystal onto the workbench in shock. Finn was leaning in the doorway, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"That's what I said Piper, Erin agreed to go on a date with me. Now its your turn to ask out Aerrow." he teased.

Piper's head dropped down onto the workbench beside her crystal, "Finn, I can't. I'm too scared he'll say no," she brought her face back up but continued to stare down at the bench, "it would really mess things up for all of us if he said no."

Finn rolled his eyes, "excuses," he walked over and grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward the door, "the other guys won't mind if you do something selfish for a change Piper." Finn kept walking Piper down the corridor. It took her a moment to realise where he was taking her, Aerrow's quarters.

"Finn! No! I can't! I don't even know what I'd say!" Finn ignored her, "Please! Don't make me do this!" At that moment, Erin came into view at the other end of the corridor exiting Aerrow's room.

She gave a small smile at seeing Finn and Piper, "Hey, where are you two off to?" she asked.

"Is Aerrow in his room?" Finn asked quickly. Piper tried desperately to squirm out of Finn's grasp at the mention of Aerrow's name. Erin noticed Piper's struggle and stared back at Finn.

"Why? What are you planning?"

"I think it's about time Piper told Aerrow exactly how she feels about him" he replied.

Erin smiled evilly and nodded. Reaching out her hand she said, "let me take her, it can be a little unnerving to have the best friend of the person you're asking out in the room." Finn nodded and loosened his grip on Piper as Erin grabbed Piper's other hand. "After that I'll have a shower and I'll be ready for our date okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Finn replied before turning and walking casually back down the hallway. Erin's grip on Piper tightened as Piper tried to pull away. She quickly pulled Piper over to Aerrow's door and pressed the release. Checking to make sure Finn was gone, she pushed Piper into the room and shut the door behind them.

Piper looked slowly around the room, her heart beating so hard she thought it might have been in her throat. Realising The room was empty apart from herself and Erin, she looked at the other girl quizzically.

"Thought you needed a break from the torture for a bit" Erin smiled.

"Thanks," Piper sighed, "I really did. Why would you help me out anyway? I thought for sure you'd side with your new boyfriend."

Erin snorted, "First, I haven't even been on a date with Finn yet, I don know whether I want to call him my boyfriend yet. Second, I wouldn't just agree with someone because they're a partner or relative, it's more fun to have a bit of friendly rivalry anyway. Third, I wanted to talk to you a bit about something Aerrow told me when new were on Cyclonia that might make you feel a bit better."

Piper went over to the bunk beds and sat down, staring curiously at Erin. "What did he say?"

* * *

Erin got out of the shower and dressed quickly. As she brushed her hair in the mirror she thought about the date she was about to go on. Finn had decided that it was better not to tell her about the Terra they were going to for their date, so now Erin was trying to imagine what kind of a place they would be going to. She pulled her hair up into a high pony tale and allowed her fringe to frame her face. The sound of the door behind her opening startled her. Aerrow walked in looking very upset. Erin set down her hairbrush and turned to face the Sky Knight.

"What's wrong, Aerrow?" Erin walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Aerrow sighed and collapsed against the wall. He slid down and sat on the floor, his head in his hands. Erin knelt down beside him and lifted his face, "talk to me."

Aerrow shook his head slowly, "I can't." Erin sat down and placed an arm around his shoulders to comfort him. "It isn't something that'd interest you anyway."

Erin stared at him, "and? So what if it's not interesting. I'm asking because I care Aerrow, I want to help. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but know I will listen if you change your mind." she went to stand but Aerrow pulled her back down again and into a hug.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"No problem," Erin laughed in reply, "I can postpone my date tonight if you want to talk, I really don't mind. I'm a little nervous anyway."

Aerrow stared at her questioningly, "a date? With who?"

Erin's cheeks flushed a little as she stared down at the floor, "just a certain blonde sharpshooter." Aerrow groaned and buried his head in his hands again. Erin panicked a bit, "is that a bad thing?"

Aerrow placed an elbow on his knee and rested his cheek in his hand so that he could look at Erin. "I did say to him that I didn't want him to make any moves on you, but not for the reasons you might think," he added quickly, seeing Erin's look of confusion, "he tends to only date girls he finds physically appealing and I'd hate to see you get hurt." Aerrow was shocked when Erin pulled him into another hug.

"Thank you for worrying Aerrow, but its okay, really. I made the decision on my own. There are guys like Finn in my world too, but sometimes they find someone they really do want to be with. I'm hoping that Finn actually wants to be with me but there is only one way to find out for sure." Erin pulled away and looked him in the eyes, "trust that I know what I'm doing, okay?"

Aerrow nodded slowly, "I'm worried you mightn't want to be on the Condor any more if Finn makes a mess of things. Promise you'll tell me if he upsets you?" Erin nodded in reply, "good, now go on your date."

"But what about your problem?"

"Go!" Aerrow laughed, "I have to shower anyway." he quickly stood and ushered her out the door. It was then that Finn made his appearance. "Look after her Finn," Aerrow smiled at him, "or I'll give you more chores on top of the extra ones you're already getting for disobeying a direct order." He had decided to be nice about it for now, for Erin's sake, but the next time he got Finn alone, he was going to tear him a new one.

Erin grinned happily at him before dragging Finn down the hall laughing. Finn looked very confused.

"Oh! Aerrow!" she called back over her shoulder, Aerrow's head appeared around the corner again, "go and ask Piper out already!" Although they were down the other end of the hallway, both Erin and Finn could see the Sky Knight's face turn a colour that put his hair to shame. They smirked evilly at each other before continuing down the hall toward the hangar bay.

* * *

****A/N****

** There you go, sorry its a bit short and kind of boring. The next chapter will be MUCH better, I got it all planned out. I'll get right to work on my other fic's next chapter and I'll start chapter 7 ASAP. I LOVE YOU ALL FOR READING!!! please review.**

**Lana xox**


	7. Neon

****A/N****

** You know what? I'm going to forget my other fic for a little while longer. I can't write something if I'm not inspired! I'll focus all my energy on this story for now.... because I love you guys! But shhhhh! Don't tell the people who read my other story! They might just burn me alive for this! So, just for you guys, here is Chapter 7!**

* * *

Chapter 7 – Neon

Erin looked nervous as she made her way to Finn's skimmer. Sure she had been on it before, but only for a short while. Finn had told her it would be about a half an hour trip to Terra Neon from where the Condor was currently situated. Her hands began to shake as she neared the Skimmer. She didn't have a fear of heights, that wasn't it at all; Erin had a fear of the crashing part. After that thought entered Erin's mind, she stopped in her tracks. Finn was already ahead of her and mounting the Skimmer. He started the engine before realising Erin wasn't getting on behind him.

"You okay, dude?" he asked, noticing the girl's already pale cheeks losing even more colour. For a moment Erin was reminded of Aerrow, as strange as that sounded, the expression of genuine concern. All Erin managed to do was shake her head and take a couple of steps back, the images of a burning, exploding doom etched into her mind. Finn turned off the engine and got off the Skimmer, making his way back over to Erin. "Erin," he placed his hands on her shoulders, "what's wrong?"

"I- I don't think I can go on that thing" Erin muttered, staring at her feet.

Finn bent down so that he could see at least part of her face. "I don't get it. You didn't have a problem with it the other day."

"Yeah, when I was more concerned with escaping Cyclonia," Erin replied, "and we were only in the air for a few seconds!" Finn laughed at Erin's excuses.

"Look," he started, "it won't be that bad. You'll be holding onto me the whole time. I won't let you fall. I'm a pretty good pilot you know." Erin looked back up at him and snorted. She motioned to the corner of the hangar bay where Finn's old Skimmer sat, severed in two; left there so that they could cannibalise it for parts. Finn blushed, "Okay, in my defence, talons did that." he moved his hands down Erin's arms to her hands, "so will you trust me?"

Erin nodded, smiling, as Finn led her back towards his Skimmer. Erin sat down behind Finn and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. He coughed a little, "Ease up, Erin! I need to breathe."

"Sorry," Erin mumbled, loosening her hold around Finn slightly. The Skimmer's engine started up again and Erin squeezed her eyes shut as they sped towards the end of the hangar bay. After she felt them lift off the ground, she slowly opened her eyes. The sound of Finn laughing made her eyes open the rest of the way very quickly. The sharpshooter was looking back over his shoulder at Erin, a huge grin plastered on his face. Erin's eyes glared menacingly at the blonde, "You had better not be laughing at me, Storm Hawk."

Finn just grinned wider, "So what if I am? What are you going to do?" Erin continued to glare at the marksman; a glare that he had received many times before. "You really are a lot like Aerrow." Erin's expression softened and she looked away, down at the clouds.

"Is this really so bad, Erin?" he questioned her. Erin shrugged in reply and loosened her grip on Finn a little more. She didn't know what had come over her, she had been acting very out of character. Finn patted one of Erin's arms around his waist before turning around again. A few minutes passed in silence as Finn flew the Skimmer in the direction of Terra Neon. Erin had loosened her hold on Finn a lot more and was resting her head on his back, attempting to relax a little more. She watched in silence as they passed over the soft, white clouds and allowed her mind to wander. It had been quite a few days since she had been kidnapped from her home and for some strange reason, Erin didn't really care. Her mother would be frantic, checking under almost every rock on the planet to find her. Erin felt a few tears beginning to make their way to her eyes, if it weren't for the wind blowing in her face they would have probably streaked down her face instead of drying up. She closed her eyes gently and thought about her mother and how much she missed her. She didn't even notice as she drifted off into a light sleep.

* * *

_Okay, I'll do this now. _Aerrow thought as he made his way out of the bathroom. Thinking about what Erin had said before she left, he had decided she was right. _If I don't tell Piper, Finn will._ He felt his face grow hot just thinking about the outcome of that.

Aerrow walked as calmly as he could down the corridor, silently rehearsing what to say in his head. Nothing he thought of seemed to be the right thing to say. When he got to Piper's door he paused. _Damn it Aerrow, don't be a coward!_ He brought his hand up to knock on the door but was once again stopped by fear. He didn't know how he was going to tell her, he was unprepared. _Just making excuses,_ he told him self and brought his hand up a little higher.

As his fist came in contact with the door, another louder and annoying sound echoed down the halls, accompanied by flashing red lights. _Great, what now._

He was about to turn and race to the bridge when Piper's door opened and Piper came running out, smashing into Aerrow's chest and knocking them both to the floor. Aerrow winced in pain as he felt her land knee first into his groin. He groaned loudly as Piper raised herself on her hands.

"Aerrow! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

Aerrow, still pinned, managed to squeak "Piper... knee... ouch..." Piper's eyes widened as she quickly pulled herself off of him and knelt beside him. Aerrow's hands immediately moved to nurse his sore crotch. _Doesn't this ordinarily happen to happen to Finn?_ He wondered, silently. Piper helped him stand up slowly and lean against the wall.

"What were you doing outside my lab anyway?" she questioned the red head.

'_think quick Aerrow!' s_aid the little voice inside his head. "Uh," he grinned nervously, bringing a hand up to the back of his neck, "I... I was... coming to get you to see what was wrong in the bridge..."

_Yeah, like she'll buy that..._

"Oh, okay" Piper smiled before heading off in the direction of the bridge, "we'd better get a move on then."

_Okay, so maybe she will._

Aerrow had gotten out of telling Piper for now.

* * *

~_Blood dripped from the gashes in her arms as she hung from her wrists in the Cyclonian dungeon. Her skin was burnt and cut all over and covered in dirt and dust. The ropes holding her upright were digging into her wrists and causing them to bleed. As she lifted her head she uttered one quiet word from her swollen lips. "Erin"~_

"Mum!" Erin cried as she was woken from her sleep with a start. Finn immediately looked over his shoulder and braked so that they were hovering in the air on the Skimmer.

"Are you alright?" Finn's wide eyes scanned Erin closely. Erin took one of her hands from around his waist and massaged her forehead. When she didn't answer him, Finn swivelled his entire body around to face her. It was a minute or two before Erin spoke.

"They got her," she muttered, "they got my Mum. In my dream. She was hurt, badly." Finn frowned and continued to watch Erin. Her hands were shaking and her face was paler than usual. He picked up on of her hands and held it gently in his.

"It was a dream, that's all," he whispered, trying to comfort the scared girl, "but if you want we can go home and do this another day." Erin was very quick to shake her head in response to Finn's suggestion. "Really," he continued, "I don't mi-"

"No!" she said sternly, looking directly into his eyes, "I know my Mum's okay and I really have been looking forward to this. I think I need something to take my mind off it anyway." Finn nodded and squeezed her shoulder gently before shifting back around and starting to move again. Being with Finn really did make her feel better and she wanted more than anything to enjoy her date with him. She decided to change the topic. "How far from Neon are we now anyway?" Erin asked.

"Not far now," Finn replied, "you can see it up ahead." He pointed off into the distance where many lights could be seen hovering above the clouds. Erin got more and more excited as they neared the Terra, her nightmare slipping from her mind with each passing second. The closer they got, the more Erin could make out. The entire Terra was covered in lights and amusement park rides. Upon arriving she saw at least two Ferris Wheels, and countless other rides. She gazed happily at the many brightly coloured neon signs and decorations. Although she couldn't read what any of the signs said, just looking upon them made her heart skip with excitement.

When they had landed and the Skimmer had come to a halt, Finn got off and offered Erin his hand. "Is this totally awesome or what?" he grinned down at her. Erin glanced back up at him as she stood and him gave a nod of agreement. Finn looked away again, up at one of the signs. Erin noticed how the light shone and reflected off his already bright blue eyes, making them sparkle. She got so caught up staring that she forgot that she was still holding his hand. She could feel all the warmth in her body leave her as he let go and began to make his way to the admission booth. When Finn realised she was still standing there, he turned back around and called out to her, "are you coming or what?" Erin snapped out of her trance and ran quickly to catch up with Finn.

_I hope he didn't just realise I was staring at him, _she thought to herself as she slowed down again to walk just behind Finn. For the first time, she took the opportunity to take in his appearance properly. His shoulders and arms were so nicely shaped and muscular, but not too muscular, just enough to look good. His figure was just the same, well toned and thin. Her eyes continued to move down. _Wow, he has a cute butt. _Erin's eyes widened and she mentally slapped herself for thinking that. _Damn it! What the hell?_ She scolded herself, _I'm on a first date with him for crying out loud! What am I doing?_ Her face softened again, _although he really is sexy. No, stop it! _And with that, an internal war broke out. Finn finished paying the admittance fee and looked around to face Erin, who had her eyebrows knitted in frustration and was glaring directly at his chest.

"Uh, Erin?"

Erin jumped, startled, and quickly moved her gaze up to Finn's face. "Huh?"

"A-are you okay?" Finn looked a little worried.

Erin nodded in reply, "just a... well... something I'm trying to figure out. I'm okay."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"NO!" Erin answered quickly, making Finn flinch a little, "I mean, no, that's okay Finn, let just enjoy our time here for now." Finn nodded and grabbed her hand again, pulling her into the amusement park itself.

"You're going to love this Erin. Terra Neon is the best. There's so much to do. We have got to go on all of the thirty-seven roller coasters! I went on twenty-eight of them last time with Junko, but Piper and Aerrow made us stop when we threw up." Finn's voice sounded very disappointed as he finished.

Erin squeezed his hand and grinned, "bet you'll throw up first." Finn snorted and laughed before pulling Erin in the direction of the nearest roller coaster. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Aerrow sighed as he stood, once again, outside Piper's lab. In the last hour, Cyclonians had attacked them, The ship had lost power twice and Radarr had gotten himself stuck in one of the vents, requiring the whole team to get him out without hurting the poor critter. Aerrow was beaten, but he had to finish the task he had set himself, and so his legs had marched him back to piper's door.

_Okay, _he told himself, _just walk on in and tell her you need to talk to her. Sit her down and tell her straight. It won't be that hard. _As he brought his hand up to knock on the door for the second time that day, Stork's voice could be heard on the comm.

"Aerrow, can you come to the bridge? Radarr's gotten himself stuck again."

Aerrow growled in frustration. Today just wasn't his day.

* * *

Erin groaned as she and Finn stood over a bin after bringing back up what had originally been their dinner. Finn looked nauseated even after throwing up and leaned further over the bin.

"How many roller coasters is that now?" Finn managed to mumble.

"Thirty-four," Erin replied, taking a packet of mints out of her pocket and throwing at least six into her mouth. Finn moaned loudly. "Well it serves us right," Erin commented, "we were the ones who decided to have those sky-dogs for dinner after all." Finn gave her an odd look and started to say something, but was interrupted by another wave of vomit. Erin rubbed his back sympathetically. She assumed he was going to say, 'you didn't have to eat that many' and he was right. She had just enjoyed them so much. They were so different to anything she had eaten on Earth.

Finn finished heaving up his dinner and stood up. Erin quickly passed him the packet of mints, which he tipped the entire contents of, into his mouth. Erin giggled at the expression on Finn's face as the mints began to burn at the inside of his mouth. She placed a hand over his mouth to stop him spitting them back out. She had taken the mints out of her backpack before leaving the Condor, getting the feeling that she would need them some time that night. They were super strong mints too, one of her favourites, you had to be very brave to eat them. It was a good thing she had them in her bag when she was kidnapped because there was no such thing as mint on Atmos. Finn began to struggle against her, trying to spit out the burning lollies. Erin moved closer to him, her hand still over his mouth, "its for the best Finn," she laughed, "your breath is awful!" Finn's eyes narrowed at Erin, but seeing that he could not win, he reluctantly chewed and swallowed the mints.

Erin quickly removed her hand, afraid Finn might try and bite her. Instead, he grinned evilly, "You. Are. So. DEAD!" he yelled. Erin squealed and ran in the opposite direction, Finn hot on her heals. She ran back past all of the previous roller coasters they had ridden on, through the sideshow tent area and past the food and confectionery stands. She felt like she had been running for hours before Finn finally caught her. His arms circled around her waist as he tackled her to the ground. The both of them lay there laughing as Erin tried to swing playfully at her captor, failing miserably.

"Dude, we gotta teach you to fight!" Finn teased, Erin stuck her tongue out at him. Stood and helped Erin back to her feet. Looking around, he noticed that they were in the carnival games section of the Terra. Only a few meters away, he spied his favourite carnival game of all time, The Duck Shooting Gallery. "Sweet!" he smiled as he led Erin over to the booth.

"Hey, maybe you could win me something big, sharpshooter?" Erin asked sweetly.

Finn winked at her, "sure can." He paid the carnie the fee to take the shots and picked up the crossbow. Before aiming he turned around and leaned closer to Erin's face, "how about a kiss for luck?" Erin, feeling a little awkward, kissed her fingers before placing them on Finn's cheek. His face fell, "Aww, come on!" Erin raised an eyebrow at him, "alright, fine, you're no fun." He turned away, aiming the crossbow. Erin saw his face saddening. Feeling very guilty, she pulled him around to face her again and planted a quick kiss on his cheek.

"There," she whispered, pulling away again, "I am too fun. I just wasn't sure about kissing you on our first date." Finn was still standing there, stunned. He couldn't believe she had actually done that.

"Uh," he started, staring right into her eyes, "you know I didn't mean that last part right? I was only teasing. You're heaps of fun. This is actually the most fun I've had in months." They both smiled gently.

"I'm glad you're having fun," Erin said, gently placing a hand on Finn's arm, "now, win me a prize." As Finn turn around to aim once more, Erin took a deep breath and acted on impulses, slipping her arms carefully around Finn's waist. She instantly felt his body relax. A moment later he fired the first shots, hitting each target dead on. Erin stood there, her arms around he blonde sharpshooter, watching him bullseye every target with a smile on her face. Before the last shot, Finn put down the crossbow, looking back over his shoulder at his date.

"Want to take the last shot?" he asked.

"W-what? No, no I can't!" Erin replied quickly.

Finn rolled his eyes and turned his body to face her. "Come on," he grinned, "it'll be fine, I'll help you." Erin sighed in defeat, she was too tired to argue. He placed the crossbow in Erin's hands and stood behind her, placing his hands over hers and moving them into the right positions. "Okay, now the trick is breathing in and holding for short distance, breathing out and holding for long." Erin nodded, her eyes fixed on the ducks passing in front of her. "Look straight down the crossbow and line up your target, breath, and then take your shot." As he finished, Erin fired the crossbow, hitting the target as accurately as Finn had before.

"Yes!" she cried happily. Finn let go of her and pointed out the prize he wanted to the carnie. After Erin set down the crossbow, she looked around and saw Finn holding a teddy bear almost as big as she was."Aww!" she cooed, "it's so cute!"

Finn held he teddy out in front of him, "he wants you," Finn said softly, "he told me so." Erin snickered at Finn's attempt of acting like a little kid. Taking the teddy, she held it tightly in her arms.

"What should I name him?" she asked Finn, who was standing there staring at Erin adoringly.

"Hmmm," he replied, thinking, "how about Finn? So you'll always remember me." he did his pistol fingers at Erin, earning himself an eye roll. "Okay fine," he huffed, "what about 'Neon'? Then you can remember the great time we had tonight, forever."

Erin nodded in approval. "But Finn," she added, he looked into her eyes again as she grabbed his hand, "I could NEVER forget you or tonight." Finn smiled as she flushed a slight pink, and leaning forward, planted a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead.

"Me neither."

* * *

"Aerrow, come in."

Finally, Aerrow made it through the door. Piper sat at her desk, reading a book. Aerrow tried to act as cool as ever, leaning in the door frame. "What you up to Piper?"

She marked the book and placed it down onto her desk. "I'm looking for a way to send Erin back to her own world, only, there doesn't really seem to be a way. However Cyclonis brought her here, it wasn't a simple task. It's not in any of my books."

Aerrow sighed, partially in relief. He wasn't ready for Erin to go just yet. There was something about her presence that lifted his spirits. "Well," he smiled with his usual optimistic attitude, "maybe it'll be a good thing to have her around a little bit longer. We could learn about where she's from. Maybe even a way to end the war."

Piper smiled, "well, I have been wanting to do some blood tests to see if she really is the same species as us. She may look it, but you never know; it can't hurt to find out. I will need some of someone else's blood to test it with though." she looked up at Aerrow hopefully.

His grin widened, "gladly." He stepped into the room and towards Piper, "There's a different reason I came here though," he almost whispered, not wanting to be overheard. Before he could continue however, the vent above him gave away and a small blue creature came tumbling out. Radarr landed head first on the ground, Piper rushed over to him, "Radarr! Are you okay? What were you doing in the vents again? You've already been stuck twice today!" Radarr regained his balance and turned to check on Aerrow. The red head was laying on the floor in a daze. The grate from the vent had hit him on the head, and a loose pipe had fallen down after it, impaling his right leg.

"Damn it!" he moaned. Today just wasn't his day.

* * *

****A/N****

** Yes! Another chapter up! I didn't think I'd get this far in the fic.... but here I am! Chapter 8 will be exciting! Please review, it makes me smiley and encourages me to update quicker. By the way, thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, it REALLY means a lot to me. I loves you all! :) :) :) :) :) *hugs***


	8. All New Things

Chapter 8 – All New Things

"Ouch! Not so tight, Stork!" Aerrow growled as a less than eager Merb bandaged up his injured leg. He sighed heavily; a pilot like him had more important things to do than tending to his accident-prone Captain's wounds… like flying the ship, for example. Piper had offered to take the controls once Stork left and keep the Condor steady, giving him no choice but to play doctor.

Aerrow was fuming; he could not believe that yet another attempt to confess his feelings to Piper had failed miserably. A cheerful Junko seated beside him on the counter did not improve his temper. "Take it easy Aerrow," the Wallop grinned, finding the Sky Knight's unusual foul mood to be humorous, "Stork is just trying to help out."

"Well, he could at least allow some of my blood to circulate," Aerrow spoke with distain, glaring at the blood-soaked cloths beside him on the table. _How could I let that happen?_ _I should have known better than to try and talk to Piper after everything I'd already screwed up..._

_Radarr_, Aerrow thought angrily_, this is entirely his fault. We told him to stay out of those damn vents!_ Aerrow looked down, angrily fidgeting in his seat.

"So, uh, how exactly did you hurt your leg anyway Aerrow?" the ever curious Junko asked.

A low growl escaped Aerrow's throat as he quickly slid off the table and onto his feet. He limped out of the room as fast as him legs would carry him and made his way down the hallway toward his bedroom. Upon entering his room, he closed the door behind him and walked over the bunk bed, falling face first onto Erin's. Aerrow closed his eyes and lay there silently.

As he felt sleep coming over him, he heard light footsteps nearing his doorway. He looked up, seeing a small furry creature slowly making his way over to him. Radarr's hands were behind his back, hiding something. Aerrow resisted the urge to yell. Instead he merely glared at his co-pilot. "Radarr, leave me alone."

A soft whine escaped the critter's throat as his steps slowed to a halt. Aerrow's glare softened when he saw the sincerely apologetic expression upon his companion's face. The red-head sighed heavily, "I'm sorry buddy, I'm just a bit upset. I guess I was just looking for someone to blame for my own misfortune." Another small whimper was heard as the -creature lowered his head a little.

"What have you got there?" Aerrow asked, trying to lighten the mood a little. Radarr slowly brought out a small plate from behind him. On the plate were two of the best looking chocolate brownies that Aerrow had ever seen. "Th-those are Piper's! She hid them from us so we wouldn't eat them! Radarr, you shouldn't have-" he looked back up at his friend, "-on second thought, its too late to worry about it now. We should probably destroy the evidence before Piper finds out. One each, what do you say?" Radarr nodded quickly in agreement. Taking one of the bownies off the plate, Aerrow grinned at Radarr. Just as they were taking the first bite, Piper's voice echoed down the hallway.

"WHO THE HELL STOLE MY BROWNIES?"

The two criminals quickly shoved the remainder of their treats into their mouths.

"...No," Erin sounded annoyed, "The 'Thunderbolt' was by far the best roller coaster!" She used her knee to shift the teddy bear she was still holding tightly in her arms up slightly. Finn grinned over at her, shaking his head, as they walked back out to the parking lot.

"No, dude, the 'Jet Scream' totally has the win there" Finn lazily stretched him arms up above his head, convinced he had won. Erin let go of her teddy with one arm and poked Finn in the stomach, causing him to flinch and lower his arms quickly.

"Just because you did what the name implies, doesn't mean it trumps the others!" She teased, grinning from ear to ear.

Finn scratched his nose, "Mhmm, okay, lets just get going. I have something I want to show you on the way home."

Smiling to herself, Erin followed Finn's lead and started in the general direction of his Skimmer. After a few moments of silence, she spoke up, "What do you want to show me exactly?"

Finn smiled down at her, "You'll see."

"Aww come on!" she begged, grabbing a hold of his right arm and clinging to it. With no response from the Sharpshooter, Erin decided to change the topic.

"Is learning to fly a Skimmer hard?"

"Thats a rather random question," he looked around at her, "why?"

"I dont know," Erin replied, holding her teddy by her side, "We, don't really have flying vehicles like them where I'm from. We have motorcycles, but they're like... Skimmers wthout wings; they don't fly."

"In...ter...est...ing..." Finn scratched his head.

"It might seem weird to you, but flying motorbikes are strange to me."

"True."

"So,_ Is _it hard?" Erin asked again, cocking her head "To pilot one of them, I mean."

As they reached Finn's Skimmer, he leant against it and crossed his arms. "Well, _I_ don't find it hard. I got the hang of it the first time I got up in the air."

Erin's eyes lit up, "Really?"

"Sure did."

"Could you teach me?"

"Wha-" the stunned Sharpshooter let out a short cry as his Skimmer tipped over under his weight and he landed on top of it. He quickly picked himself up off the ground. Erin was giggling like crazy. Finn glared, "Hey, thats not funny. I could have hurt myself."

Erin just laughed louder and Finn couldn't help but smile. _She looks so pretty when she smiles._

When she finally stopped laughing, his smile turned into a frown. "Look Erin... Here's the thing" he sighed heavily, turning to pull the Skimmer back onto its wheels, "I lied, okay? I'm not all that great a pilot. I crash all the time." he mounted the Skimmer and looked up at her, "If you want someone to teach you, you should probably ask Aerrow. He's the best pilot on the Atmos."

"But I don't want Aerrow to teach me" Erin gently took his hand in hers, "I want _you_ to teach me. Aerrow may be the best, but I think it'd be more fun to learn from you."

He noticed that look in her eyes, that same look Aerrow has; it was inexplicable persuasion, and there was no arguing with her. Tearing himself away from her gaze, he sighed again, "Fine, I suppose it can't hurt... Be warned though, I've never taught anybody before... and it took Aerrow quite some time to tech me."

Erin held back a laugh. "Okay Sharpshooter," she stepped up closer to the Skimmer, "teach me to fly." Finn scooted backwards and patted the seat in front of him, allowing Erin to sit down and take control of the Skimmer. As she sat down, she passed her teddy bear back to Finn. "Okay, what do I do first?"

"Well, you have to start the engine."

"Oh! Right! Of course!" Erin looked around desperately for an ignition switch. Unable to find one, she sighed and turned around to look at Finn, "a little help?"

She looked down when she felt his foot nudging her right leg. "You have to kick it."

Erin blushed. "I knew that!" she laughed. She stood and placed her foot on the kick-starter and brought all of her weight down onto it. When the engine didn't even make a sound, she tried again. Still, nothing happened.

"You're not doing it fast enough."

Letting an annoyed growl escape her throat, Erin tried a third time. She brought her foot down quickly, but her foot slipped off the ratchet lever.

"Your foot wasn't positioned properly."

Resisting the urge to attack Finn, she repositioned her foot and attempted to start it again, bringing it down quicker than the first few times. The engine made a couple of cough-like sounds but still failed to start.

"Still too slow," came the voice of the now bored Sharpshooter. He stood up, "Here, let me do it."

"I can do it!" Erin snapped as she pushed Finn back down onto the seat. She brought her foot down quickly in frustration and the engine roared to life. Erin sat back down onto the Skimmer and sighed in relief. "See?" she grinned over her shoulder at Finn.

She was nearly scared out of her skin when Finn started clapping and cheering unexpectedly. "Wooooooo! You did it! Hey Everyone! Erin started the Skimmer!" he bellowed, earning a few odd looks from passers by.

Erin turned around and smacked the blonde across the back of the head. "Shut up Blondie!" she laughed, "What do I do next?"

"Well, next we have to get moving. We can't take off until we gain some speed. The accelerator is on the right" he added, tapping Erin's right hand with his own. A look of anxiety crept onto Erin's face as she realised what she would have to do next.

"M-maybe this wasn't such a good idea, Finn" she mumbled, removing her hands from the handle bars.

"Come on! You already started it on your own, the rest is easier than that. I'll be here with you, don't worry. You can't go wrong."

Erin took a deep breath and replace her hands on the handles. Finn carefully placed his hands over hers and felt her relax a little bit more.

"Now, the important thing to remember is that you have to keep your balance. If your balance is all over the place, we'll end up upside down." he spoke softly into her ear.

"No pressure, right?" Erin laughed.

Finn smiled and gently started to turn her right hand on the accelerator. The skimmer slowly began to move away from the other parked vehicles and towards the edge of the Terra.

"The first time I flew a skimmer, I went flying straight off the edge of the Condor and spiralled out of Control. It took me forever to get the hang of it. Aerrow and Piper laughed at me every time I tried to fly after that... until I finally got it right. Of course, I still crash more than the others do. I think I must be cursed or something."

Erin glanced quickly over her shoulder at the sharpshooter, who was staring down and grinning to himself. "I'm guessing this is a side of you the others don't get to see, huh?"

Finn laughed, "If I was ever caught talking like this, the rest of the team would think I was sick or something and take me straight to a doctor. Truth is, I'm not really the guy that they all see. Aerrow is the only other person I can talk to like this. I'm not sure why, but you remind me so much of him... In a good way, of course." he added, seeing a confused look on Erin's face in her reflection on the windshield.

"Of course!" Erin laughed

"We need to speed up"

"Hmm?"

"Now..."

"Oh."

Finn gripped Erin's right hand a little tighter and began to turn it back further. As he did so, the skimmer picked up speed... as did Erin's heart rate.

"Oh god"

"It's fine, babe. Just relax and follow my instructions. The lever on the left will extend the wings once we're off the landing strip. The moment we're off the edge of the Terra, push the lever back away from you and we'll be good from there, alright?"

Erin nodded and placed her left hand on the lever. The edge of the strip drew nearer and nearer. Another deep breath and she turned her hand back further, speeding up just so that she felt more confident in herself. Moments later they sped off the side of the Terra. Erin closed her eyes and pushed the lever forward, extending the skimmer's wings. She slowly opened her eyes again to see that they were not falling, but travelling quickly just above the layer of clouds.

Erin let out a sigh of relief and glanced over her shoulder again to see Finn grinning at her.

"Well done." He removed his hands from Erin's and placed them around her waist, "much better than the first time I flew this thing."

"Thanks," Erin said happily in reply, "and Finn?"

"Hmm?"

She elbowed the marksman in the stomach. He let go of her with one hand and held his stomach, laughing a little, "What was that for?"

"NEVER call me 'babe'"

Most of the afternoon was quiet on the Condor. With Finn on his date with Erin, there was nobody around to cause a disturbance.

_Thank goodness for the new girl,_ Stork thought to himself as he stood at the helm, staring lazily out at the clouds. The last thing the poor Merb needed right now was for some bouncing blonde idiot to be there, playing his guitar, setting off stink bombs and Atmos only knows what else. The dead silence on the ship was rare, but such a lovely change when it did occur. Most of the crew, with the exception of Stork and Piper, had gone for an afternoon nap. Stork had only heard Piper once when she dropped something in her lab onto what he could only assume was her foot; judging by the many curse words and toppling sounds he heard.

The pilot's thoughts drifted to Erin. She really was a mystery, even to Piper. Nobody had ever come to Atmos from another world before. _What if she's carrying a rare disease?_ He thought, _we could all end up bleeding out of every orifice in our sleep or end up permanently paralysed because of some deadly virus! _Stork's eye twitched as he continued to think of the horrendous effects that this girl could have on the team. _Possible sicknesses aside, she could cause a major disturbance... but she may also be a change for the better._

He sighed deeply. She seemed nice enough, maybe he should just give her the benefit of the doubt for the time being. Piper was going to test the girl's blood soon anyway. If there was anything wrong, Piper would know about it. A lazy smile of relief formed on the Merb's face as his concentration returned to piloting the ship.

Aerrow woke up with his face in his pillow. Hours had passed since he had first come into his bedroom. The plate which had once held the chocolate brownies sat empty on the bedside table next to the bunk below him and Radarr was sleeping soundly next to him.

The redhead sat up and yawned loudly. Radarr stirred but made no effort to wake himself up. Aerrow carefully climbed over his friend and lowered himself onto Erin's bed. He smiled when he saw Erin's backpack at the end of her bed. He crawled over and picked it up, setting it down in his lap.

_I wonder if she'll mind if I have a quick peek at some of her stuff from her home world, _he thought to himself. He unzipped the largest of the pockets and began rummaging.

"You could get in trouble for that, you know" came a soft feminine voice from the doorway. Aerrow looked up to see Piper walking over to him with a small bag in her hand. She dropped her voice to a whisper when she realised that Radarr was still asleep on the top bunk, "What are you doing?"

"Just having a look. Erin left her bag here. Some of this stuff looks interesting." Aerrow replied softly as he continued his exploration of Erin's bag.

Piper giggled quietly, "I'm sure she won't mind, as long as she gets to go through all of your stuff."

Aerrow laughed as he pulled out what looked to be a small wireless radio. "Heh, odd." He looked up to see Piper still standing over him, "Um, was there something you needed Piper?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I was just wondering if I could get that blood sample from you now. It'll make things easier when Erin and Finn get back."

"Mhmm, okay."

Piper set her bag down on the bed and pulled out a syringe and disinfectant. Aerrow watched nervously as Piper took the glove off his right hand and rolled up his sleeve. Her touch was amazingly soft and the poor Sky Knight had a hard time trying not to smile too much and let his secret be discovered.

_Oh no! The secret! _Aerrow screwed his eyes up and looked away as he remembered. _Erin and Finn will be back any minute and I haven't made any progress yet! _He felt the needle pierce his arm and he looked back to face Piper.

It was then that Aerrow realised that he and Piper were alone.

"Hey Piper?"

"Hm?"

"I need to tell you something, and I don't think I'll get another chance..."

Piper's golden eyes looked up to meet his green ones. "Aerrow, is everything okay?"

Aerrow swallowed and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes again as he said very quickly, "Piper, I really, really like you... like more than a friend." Aerrow half expected to open his eyes to see her backing away slowly or with a look of disgust or horror on her face. What a shock he got when he saw that he was smiling.

"Yeah, I know."

The redhead's eyes widened, "You do?"

Piper returned to her work, pulling the full syringe out of Aerrow's arm and placing a bandaid over the tiny puncture. "Yeah, Erin told me after she found out that I... that I really like you too." Her cheeks flushed a dark colour.

Aerrow was both relieved and annoyed with this. Erin had betrayed his trust, but it had definitely made things a whole lot easier for him. He decided to let this one go.

"Okay," he continued, rubbing the back of his neck, "Do you, maybe, want to go out sometime? With me, that is."

Piper giggled and nodded, "Love to."

Finally, the task he had set himself was completed. Maybe this _was _his day after all.

"Aerrow, there's a radio call for you. Its Finn." Stork's bored voice came over the comm.

"Oh no..."

"Finn, where's Erin?" Aerrow growled at the sharpshooter over the radio.

"Sh-she's fine. I am too, thanks for asking."

"Not now Finn!" Aerrow yelled. Piper rushed over and took the radio out of Aerrow's hand.

"Finn, what happened?" she asked calmly.

"Well, I was teaching Erin to pilot the skimmer-"

"-YOU WHAT?" Aerrow yelled, even though Finn couldn't hear him.

"-and she was doing great; she's a real natural... aside from starting the engine." A smacking sound was heard over the speakers, "Ouch! Okay, okay, you did good. Anyway, I kind of distracted her... we ended up crashing."

Piper sighed heavily, "Where are you, we'll come and get you."

"We're on Vapos."

Piper and Aerrow looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Finn seemed to be able to hear their thoughts, "Well, she _seemed_ interested."

Aerrow took the radio off Piper again, "Finn, can you let me talk to Erin please?"

A few moments later, Erin's voice was heard over the speakers, "Hey, Aerrow."

"Erin, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," her voice seemed happy and bubbly, "It was just a little accident. I might have a few bruises tomorrow, but other than that I'm perfectly okay, I promise."

"Good,"Aerrow sighed in relief, "Sit tight then, we're coming to pick you up."

After he hung up, Aerrow sat down at the table and glared angrily at a picture of Finn on the wall. Just because Erin was okay, didn't mean Finn was going to get out of a serious beating.

"you really care about her, don't you?" Piper asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," he replied, folding his arms on the table and resting his head on top of them, "I'm not entirely sure why though. I haven't known her that long."

"You're a Sky Knight, Aerrow," Piper ran her fingers through his hair, "and a really good person. You care about her because she's someone in need. I really admire you for being able to devote that much energy into someone you haven't known for very long... and actually, she reminds me a lot of you." she giggled and leaned down next to him, "maybe she's you from another dimension! One where you actually have a girl's body to match your feminine face!" she took a step back, laughing, as Aerrow took a playful swing at her.

"You squeal like a girl," Erin giggled as she lay on the grass beside Finn.

"Hey! How do I know that wasn't _you_ squealing?" he glared over at the girl, nudging her in the ribs.

"Is that seriously the best you can come up with? Come on, have another go at it."

Finn's eyes narrowed even more. He looked away, up towards the sky, "You crashed my skimmer."

Erin immediately began laughing, shifting over closer to him. Finn couldn't hold a straight face any longer and smiled as he pulled her into a hug.

"Its funny," Erin sighed as she rested her head on his chest, "I never really get this close to anyone this quickly."

Finn nodded as he squeezed her a little closer, "Me neither. Girls have always turned me down in the past. This just feels so right."

"Mhmm." Erin agreed as she gently closed her eyes and listened to Finn's heartbeat. She just about fell asleep when she heard Finn speak again.

"We should probably get up and get moving. The guys are likely to come and look for us at the palace."

Erin sat up and turned to face him, "Palace?" Finn sat up, grinning.

"Welllll... I didn't want to say anything, but I'm kind of the hero of Terra Vapos" he grinned, pushing his chest out a little. Erin rolled her eyes and pushed him over again. "I'm serious!" he laughed as he sat up again, "I'm the Domo; their 'chosen one'. Ask the rest of the team, it drives them nuts because I'm so famous here." He stood up and offered Erin a hand to get up

"I'm _sure_ that's why it drives them nuts," Erin chuckled as she took his hand. Finn tried to glare at her, but had a hard time holding back his smile.

"You're such a bitch."

"Yeah, but you like me."

"I do, but I know that you like me too."

Erin blushed and looked down at the ground, "...yeah." She began following Finn as he started in the direction of the palace. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Finn spoke up.

"You have a death grip on my hand. You know, if you don't want me to let go, just say so." Erin flushed a deep red as she realised that she was still holding his hand. Not only that, but she was holding it extremely tight. She quickly released her grip on the blonde's hand and crossed both of her arms across her chest.

"Hey," Finn stopped and turned to face her, "I didn't say let go." He reached for her hand again and carefully intertwined their fingers. Erin felt her face growing hotter as he stepped closer to her. The sharpshooter placed a cool hand on her cheek and gently stroked it. "Relax, okay? You're making_ me_ nervous." Erin looked up to see a pink tinge across the boy's cheeks. She felt her heart beat fast as she realised just how close to him she was.

Finn let his hand slide from her face and moved away slightly, pulling her with him. "Let's keep moving, it's going to get dark soon."

Erin glanced over at the edge of the Terra where the sun was setting behind the clouds, giving off bright colours of red, orange and pink. A perfect sunset. Looking back at her date, Erin saw that he too was watching the clouds. The setting sun was reflecting beautifully off his eyes, just as the lights had done back on neon. Their eyes met and Erin smiled

_This has got to be the best way to end a date._

****A/N** **

** YAAAAAAAY! Chapter 8 is over and done with! So, yeah, I've been away for AGES! Writer's block is a bitch. Thankfully, I am pretty much sorted out now emotionally, so I should have a lot more time to write... I hope... NO PROMISES! XD I've got work tomorrow, but I might get up early and start my work on chapter 9... I really need those reviews guys... any mistakes or anything that could be fixed PLEASE TELL ME! I was in a loving mood when I wrote this chapter (if you couldn't tell) so its a bit 'lovey-dovey'. I'm hoping the next one will be less of that... unless you guys liked it, in which case I will write more! :D Anyway, enough from me. Back soon with Chapter 9!**


	9. Getting To Know Erin

****A/N** Yeah, so life just got even more hectic (if that's at all possible) so I apologise once again for the delay in my updating. Works been crap. Social life is crap. Health is crap... yeah. Hopefully things will sort themselves out soon, but I will try my absolute best to update frequently. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

**This one is for Spirit-of the Rain. Thanks so much for reviewing and inspiring me again darl!**

**

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**Chapter 9 – Getting To Know Erin

"Are you serious, Finn?" Piper asked, stifling a laugh.

"What?" Finn grinned, "I wanted her to see the Terra. It looks awesome at this time of day."

"Mhmm," Piper nodded, obviously not believing him. She shook her head as she left the bridge in the direction of her lab. The others remained seated, holding back their laughter, as Finn turned around again to rejoin the group. Aerrow was the first to speak.

"So how was your date?"

"It was pretty awesome," Finn grinned, catching Erin's gaze, "Think we should do that again soon, Erin?" Erin smiled and nodded enthusiastically, continuing to stare into the sharpshooter's eyes.

Aerrow grabbed Finn's shoulder and pulled him closer in a threatening manner, "Don't think I haven't forgotten your punishment for defying me and asking her out in the first place... and there will be an extra punishment for putting her in danger like that."

Erin jumped up and ran around the table to Aerrow, gently prying his hand away from Finn's shoulder. She held it tightly between both of her hands and looked him straight in the face. "Aerrow, you worry too much. Finn didn't put me in any danger that couldn't have been avoided if I were paying a little bit more attention. Please don't punish him for giving me one of the best days of my life."

Aerrow's expression softened and he looked back at Finn, who was giving him a hopeful look, "Erin has saved you THIS time Finnegan, but put her in danger or go against a direct order again, and you won't be so lucky." Aerrow's words were serious, but lazy. Finn nodded, letting his leader know that he understood, but grumbled at having been called by his full name. Stork and Junko sighed simultaneously, relieved that a major conflict had been avoided.

After a few moments of silence, Aerrow looked back at Erin and smiled, "So Erin, I hear you're a fair pilot."

Erin released Aerrow's hand and took a step back, "Well, yeah, I-I suppose I'm okay- wait, where are you going with this?" She asked suspiciously, earning a laugh from the Skyknight.

"Just wondering if Finn was telling the truth is all." He shrugged, standing up and stretching. "By the way, I told Piper."

"Finally!" Erin and Finn yelled in unison, making Stork jump. The Merb muttered something under his breath, stood up and made his way back to the helm.

Erin made a quick apology to Stork before returning her focus to Aerrow, "Soooo, tell us what happened! What did she say?"

Aerrow narrowed his eyes, grinning, "Oh I think you know what she said, Erin" Erin attempted to hide behind her hands, grinning to herself. Aerrow wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you."

The shocked girl attempted to hug him back, "Any time... I guess." Erin had to hold back a laugh when she saw Finn making kissing faces over Aerrow's shoulder. Aerrow let her go again as soon as a voice echoed down the hallway.

"Hey Erin," Piper called, "I need your help with something, would you mind loaning me a moment of your time?" Erin gave Aerrow a puzzled look, he replied by motioning to his bandaged hand and mouthing the word 'needle'.

Finn snorted, "Your whole hand is bandaged? Have fun babe, it looks like Piper's hungry for blood."

SMACK

"I warned you, did I not?" she glared at the blonde, trying her best not to laugh. Finn nodded apologetically, rubbing at the back of his head. Aerrow and Radarr glanced at each other, confused.

Finn smiled over at them, "She doesn't like being called 'babe'" Erin grinned and gave him a quick hug before making her way off the bridge toward Piper's lab. Aerrow gave Finn a friendly pat on the shoulder before following Erin out of the room.

"Mind if I tag along?" he asked, catching up to her.

Erin shook her head, "Not a bit. It might actually prove to be a good thing. I've heard that Piper can start rambling on about things that don't make sense to a lot of people. If she starts, I may need you to translate for me."

"If its at all possible, I will" Aerrow chuckled. Both she and Aerrow laughed quietly until they came to Piper's door. Before they even had a chance to knock on the door, Piper opened it and grabbed Erin's wrist, and pulled her inside.

"Piper, what the-?" Aerrow ran into the lab after them.

Piper looked over at him and smiled, "I'm just excited, that's all. Sorry Erin."

Erin was sitting in the chair at Piper's bench, rubbing at her now sore wrist. She glanced back over at Aerrow, "Finn was right! She IS hungry for our blood!"

* * *

"I don't get it," Finn cocked his head to the side, "this thing plays music, but there are no tapes. And _those _things are headphones?" he picked up the earphones and put them in his ears, "how on Atmos does that make the sound any better than the ones _I_ have?" He removed them from his ears and set the mp3 player down on the kitchen table. Erin had spent the morning attempting to teach the sharpshooter about things from back on Earth, but she didn't seem to be able to get anywhere.

"Look," she laughed, placing one of the earpieces into his ears and the other into her own, "you have to actually turn it on. This button does that." She clicked the button and the music started playing, "Hear that?"

Finn's eyes widened and he looked at Erin in shock, "It's so clear. It's almost like I'm hearing it being played right in front of me!"

"And this wheel," Erin continued, demonstrating as she spoke, "adjusts the volume. These two buttons are used to switch songs. Here, play around." She gave him the other earpiece and handed over the mp3 player.

"That looks like fun," Aerrow's voice floated over from the doorway.

"Hey Aerrow, come sit." Erin said cheerfully.

Finn shrieked and fell off his chair as he accidentally turned the volume of the mp3 player all the way up. "DUDE! NOT COOL!" he yelled, taking the earpieces out again and handing the device back to Erin, "I don't like it."

Erin laughed, "You just don't like it because it won." Aerrow laughed and Finn poked his tongue out at her.

Aerrow grinned at his sharpshooter before turning his attention to something else on the table that caught his eye. "Hey Erin, what's that?" He asked, pointing to the wireless radio-like device that he had seen earlier, "I saw it before, but I wasn't sure about it, so I put it back."

Erin raised an eyebrow at him as he sat down beside her, "You mean you went through my stuff?"

"Hey, you told Piper my biggest secret and betrayed my trust" Aerrow laughed, poking her in the ribs. Erin giggled and playfully slapped his hand away.

"I guess this makes us even then?" she asked. Aerrow nodded in agreement. "Lets start over then, okay?" she held her hand out in front of her, "Hi, I'm Erin. Nice to meet you."

"Aerrow of the Storm Hawks, its lovely to meet you Erin."

Finn's laughter made them both jump. "Pfff! Aw man, you guys are lame!"

Once Finn's laughter had died down, Aerrow's attention returned to the device on the table. "So, um, what is this anyway?" He picked it up and looked at it closely.

"Its called a cellphone. Its pretty much like your radios, but you dial numbers to open private channels of sorts. Each one has a unique number." Erin explained as she watched Aerrow examine the phone. He placed it back on the table in front of Finn, who instantly picked it up and started pressing the buttons.

"Wow," he exclaimed, when the screen lit up, "the people on your world have funny writing." He showed it to Aerrow who squinted at the screen, trying desperately to make sense of it.

"What does it say?" he asked, taking the phone off Finn and showing it to Erin.

"'Enter password'" Erin replied. Aerrow handed the phone back to her and she put it back in her bag along with her mp3 player. She grinned at Finn, noticing that he looked like he was about to ask something, "No Finn, I'm not going to tell you my password. Not that it would do you any good anyway."

"Yeah, what's with all the gibberish?" Finn asked, putting his feet up on the table. Erin just shook her head and turned back to Aerrow.

"So, not that I'm complaining, but is there a reason you're here?"

He nodded in reply, "Piper wants to talk to us. She got the results from the blood tests back and he says she found something interesting."

Erin stood up and walked over behind Finn's chair, "Any idea what it is?"

"No," Aerrow replied, "she wouldn't tell me a thing. She said she wanted to tell us both together."

"Hmm, weird."

"Hey Erin?" Finn looked up at her, "if you're some kind of dangerous monster, will you be offended if I throw you into the wastelands?"

Aerrow snickered, "You afraid you might have a mutant girlfriend Finn?"

"Me? Afraid? No. But if she is, I just want to make sure that...that Radarr is safe. Yeah, that's it! You know, because he's so small and everything." Aerrow and Erin looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Finn's face fell, "Not buying it? Okay, fine, I'm scared. Happy now?" he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Who the hell _would_ fall for that?" Erin heard Aerrow mutter under his breath.

"What was that?" Finn glared.

"Nothing, nothing."

Trying not to laugh, Erin wrapped her arms around Finn's shoulders and kissed him softly on the cheek, "Well if I _am_ some horrible dangerous monster, I'm pretty sure that you guys will still be safe." Finn smiled and relaxed a little in his seat.

"We'd better go see what Piper found. To be honest its killing me to not know." Aerrow said, rubbing the back of his neck. He stood up and motioned for Erin to follow him.

"Oh my gosh! You guys will NOT believe this!" An excited Piper met them outside her lab. "First though, Erin, your blood checked out, you're fine, but you knew that." Erin smiled and nodded once before Piper went on. "I ran the blood tests like I said, and something interesting came up when I compared both of your bloods."

"So you said earlier," Aerrow smiled, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her into a hug, "What's going on?"

Piper bounced away from him and picked up a bunch of paper on her desk. Erin was reminded of a five year old who had been given a heap of sugar. Bouncing happily back over to them, she handed the papers to Erin, "Read that, I had to do a bit of research, but it turns out that this is the original copy."

Erin looked down at the sheet, "I can't read it." she passed them to Aerrow who looked down at the top sheet, reading it carefully. As he read on, his eyes narrowed and his jaw dropped. "What is it, Aerrow?"

"Erin, this is a birth certificate. _Your_ birth certificate." He said softly, looking back up to meet her gaze. "It says that you were born on Atmosia."

Her eyes widened, "H-how is that even possible? I was born in Australia! I've lived there my entire life!" Aerrow's eyes kept watching her, telling her that he wasn't finished, "What else does it say?"

Aerrow sat down at Piper's lab bench and sighed heavily, scanning the rest of the pages, "I don't know that you'll believe it. I'm not even sure that _I_ do." Erin walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder as they both stared at the pieces of paper now spread out on the bench. "Erin, how do you spell your name?"

"E-R-I-N" Erin replied quickly, "why?"

Looking over his shoulder again, Aerrow addressed Piper, "Are you positive there was no mistake here, Piper?"

"Blood results doesn't lie Aerrow"

Aerrow sighed again and looked back at Erin, "Your name is spelt A-E-R-R-I-N, this IS your birth certificate." he took a deep breath before picking up another piece of paper and showing it to her. "This one is mine. Aerrin, you're my sister."

Aerrin stared at Aerrow, her face growing paler by the second. "A-and you're sure?"

"Same blood, same appearance, same family name... you even have the same birthday, which makes you twins." Piper said happily from behind them.

"Aerrin, are you okay?" Aerrow asked, his face growing more worried by the second.

"Yeah... sure..." she replied. She felt herself falling and saw Aerrow jump out of his seat, then it all went black.

* * *

****A/N** and thus concludes Chapter 9. Okay, I like to think that people saw this coming, but if you honestly didn't, can you review and let me know? Will hopefully update again soon! Reviews keep me motivated people! :D**


	10. Belonging

****A/N****

** Sorry about that huge block of writing that was at the end of this chapter guys. All fixed now! I think it was because I copied the text from my iPod and it was formatted all weird... I didnt even notice :(

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**

Chapter 10 - Belonging

Aerrow sat watching the red haired girl asleep on her bed. It seemed like it had been hours since he had found out that this was his twin sister, but in actual fact, it had only been around 20 minutes. Sitting up straighter on his desk chair, Aerrow crossed his legs in front of him and slouched over, his focus not once leaving Aerrin's sleeping form. A million questions raced through his mind as he continued to observe her; was she really his sister? How had he never heard of her existence before? Was he really the descendant of Lightning Strike, or was he adopted into the family years before the great Sky Knight's demise? The paperwork sat beside him on his desk, but he dared not pick them up. Something inside of him needed Aerrin to be sitting there with him when he discovered this information.

Aerrow closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If this girl really was his sister, he should be glad, right? A part of him was grateful for the way his life turned out; his mother and father's death had made him who he was today, but another part of him had always wanted a family and to know where he came from. Aerrow opened his eyes again as Aerrin stirred. He smiled softly as she frowned in her sleep. He immediately realised the resemblance between Aerrin and himself.

Aerrin's expression softened again and she slowly began to open her eyes. Catching her gaze, Aerrow gave her a warm smile and uncrossed his legs. He stood up and slowly made his way over to her side, seating himself on the floor beside the bed. She eventually returned the smile, reaching out and taking his hand in hers and holding it close to her. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes again.

"What time is it?" she asked quietly, "How long was I out?"

"You were only unconscious for 20 minutes or so." Aerrow replied, just as softly as Aerrin had spoken.

"Its still hard to believe,"Aerrin spoke again after a few moments, "I have a twin brother, who'd have known?" she chuckled to herself and opened her eyes, "if my friends at home knew about this, they would probably freak out and run for the hills screaming, 'There's two of her! Run for your lives!'" Aerrin gripped Aerrow's hand a little tighter as she laughed.

Silence fell again as Aerrin calmed down and looked up at him.

"What else do we know?" she asked seriously.

"I wanted to wait for you before I read anything else," Aerrow rested his head on the mattress as he spoke, "but we don't have to do it right now if you don't feel up to it." Aerrin sat up as fast as lightning, suddenly very awake. Her eyes were wide as she scanned the room. Aerrow knew she was looking for the papers and pointed to his desk with his free hand.

Still holding his left hand in her own, Aerrin jumped off the bed and dragged the Sky Knight over to the desk. Aerrow took his place in the chair again and patted his thigh, motioning for Aerrin to sit with him. She sat down on his lap and leaned against him as she picked up the papers from the desk.

"I...I forgot that I can't read this." She glanced around at Aerrow, who took the top sheet of paper from her and began to read aloud.

* * *

"What's up with you guys?" Finn asked from across the kitchen table. Neither Aerrow or Aerrin had said a word since entering the kitchen for lunch. Aerrin slowly lifted her head up from the table and caught Finn's eye, before letting her head fall back onto the table again with a loud 'thump'. Finn raised an eyebrow, "Ooookay? Aerrow, what's going on?"

Aerrow glanced over at his sister's motionless form and smiled, "I think its finally setting in." Aerrin nodded, dragging her face over the table. Aerrow placed a comforting hand on his back.

Junko looked over at Aerrin, then over to Aerrow, "Uh, what is it that's setting in exactly?" Aerrow pulled Aerrin back up into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around her gently.

Finn immediately stood and glared at Aerrin, "Are you two dating?"

"No! God, no!" Aerrin screwed up her face and looked from Finn to Aerrow. Aerrow couldn't help but laugh at Aerrin's reaction.

"Thanks for that, sis."

Finn sighed in relief, "Well that's good to know," he walked over an planted a soft kiss on Aerrin's forehead, "I thought you had ditched me for my Sky Knight, and that would just NOT be cool- wait, did Aerrow just call you 'sis'?"

Aerrow saw Piper lean over her plate and try not to laugh. He grinned up at his Sharpshooter, "I might have." Everyone's eyes widened.

Finn was speechless, he looked at the two hugging siblings and tried to say something. When he was unable to make more than a squeak, he seated himself next to Aerrin and stared wide-eyed at the table, "So, I'm dating my leader's sister?" Junko burst out laughing, slapping his friend on the back.

Aerrow let go of Aerrin and just sat there grinning, there was nothing else he could really say. The room was silent for about a minute before Finn spoke up again, "Um, so, am I still allowed to date her?" Aerrin, Aerrow and Piper all burst out laughing. "Of course you can!" Aerrin said, trying to catch her breath. Aerrow attempted to give her a stern look, but couldn't manage hold a straight face.

Aerrin laughed at her brother and looked back around at Finn. "Finny, honey," she said softly, making him blush a little, "Aerrow is my younger brother. I'm the boss of him, not the other way around." The look that came across Aerrow's face was absolutely priceless, and Finn couldn't help but laugh.

"Aerrin, you're older than me by two minutes! I hardly think that justifies you being in charge of me."

"You're right, its because I'm smarter, more mature and far better looking." she winked back at him.

"You wanna go Aerrin? I'll take you on."

"Yeah," Aerrin chuckled, "I don't have a death wish."

By this point, everyone in the room was laughing; even Stork, who had been keeping to himself until now. Once everyone's laughter had died down, Piper addressed Aerrin, "So, what else did you find out from those papers?"

"Well," she started, as everyone in the room turned to face her, "I learned that my full name is 'Aerrin Karine Strike' and that my parents—sorry, our parents," Aerrin corrected herself, getting a nudge from Aerrow, "were Caelik and Illyra Strike. Caelik, or Dad, was Lightning Strike, the original leader of the Storm Hawks."

"HA! Points for originality! Caelik Strike is Lightning Strike!" Finn laughed.

Aerrin took a moment to narrow her eyes at Finn before continuing, "He was also known as Striker... Anyway, Aerrow and I were born on Atmosia, two minutes apart... and I'm the oldest," she laughed, earning another nudge in the ribs from Aerrow.

"You're never going to let me forget it, are you?"

Aerrin grinned and shook her head, "It'll never get old." Aerrow poked his tongue out at her, leaning back and out of the way just quick enough as Aerrin tried to grab it.

"well, this does explain a few things then," Piper said quietly, "Like why Cyclonis brought Aerrin here in the first place." There was a deadly silence that followed, which was interrupted by Aerrow's heavy sigh.

"Yeah, but using my only living relative against me... She must be really desperate to finish us off now, which can only mean that Cyclonia must have come up with another plan for taking over the Atmos." Aerrow's eyes swept over his squadron as he spoke, "I think we need to look further into this as a team." At that point, Aerrin groaned and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Finn asked, grabbing Aerrin's left hand.

"This is a team discussion, and I'm not a part of the team." Aerrin sighed, "It's fine though, I have some things I need to take care of anyway."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Aerrow scowled, grabbing Aerrin's free hand, "you belong here too!"

"She's not a Storm Hawk, Aerrow" Piper turned to address her leader, "there's no need for her to be here." All of the eyes in the room narrowed and glared at Piper. Aerrow looked as though he were about to yell, so Aerrin spoke up first.

"It's okay guys," she squeezed both his and Finn's hands as she spoke, "really, it's fine. I-I have to go and... Go and finish a project." Her voice shook more and more with every word. Not once did her gaze leave the floor. "You catch me up later anyway." And with that, Aerrin snatched her hands out of Finn and Aerrow's and quickly made her way out of the kitchen. As soon as the door closed behind her, she began to run down the halls, holding back tears as she went. It wasn't until she got to the safety of her bunk that she finally let them fall. How could something so insignificant and meaningless make her feel so terrible? So what if she wasn't a Storm Hawk! She didn't need to be!

Somehow, these thoughts seemed toxic to her, and she began to cry even harder. Burying her face into her pillow, she sobbed aloud. For some reason, she had really hoped to be accepted by the Storm Hawks, and not just because of Aerrow being her brother. She had never felt more at home than she had during her time on the Condor, but clearly she had overstayed her welcome.

She lay there crying for what seemed like hours, until she felt a weight beside her on the bed and a gentle hand on her back. She knew immediately who it was.

"Are you alright?" Aerrow asked at an almost inaudible volume. Aerrin slowly nodded into her pillow.

"Yes and no," she muttered in reply, rolling onto her side to look up at Aerrow, "I'm not dying or anything, but you know..." she trailed off.

"You think that the rest of us think the same way that Piper seems to?" Aerrow asked, "we don't you know, and neither does Piper." He climbed over Aerrin and lay down behind her, gently wrapping one of his arms around her and burying his face in her hair.

"you're my brother," Aerrin sighed, "you have to say that."

"Oh really?" Aerrow laughed, "As I understand it, brothers are supposed to downright shits to their sisters, so no, I don't have to say that." Aerrow poked Aerrin in the ribs, making her flinch and hold back a laugh, "And anyway, if you ask the guys how much I talk about you when you're not around, the answer would be 'a lot'. When we met on Cyclonia, I was about to give up... on everything I mean. I was caught again and I was sick of fighting, until I started talking to you. You're spirit seemed to give me my old one back." he held Aerrin as close as he could as he continued, "and as for the rest of the team, you've got them all wrong. You should have heard Finn scream at Piper after you walked out. Its just too bad that the rooms are sound proofed. He went ballistic and started swearing his head off at her. Radarr bit her and left the room. Stork glared at her until she finally left as well, and Junko... Well, Junko got nervous with all of the yelling Finn was doing and sat there quietly, but he was concerned for you too."

Propping himself up on one arm, he saw tears streaking down Aerrin's face. He hugged her again and whispered, "cheer up sis."

"Yeah, or we'll cry too." Aerrin heard a soft voice from the doorway.

"Finn, you girl." Aerrow teased, before looking back at his sister, "but seriously, we will." Finn wondered over and sat down next to Aerrin where Aerrow had been sitting earlier. He sat there silently for a minute or so, watching Aerrow stroking Aerrin's hair. Eventually he laid down on the edge of the bed, facing Aerrin.

"Wanna go on another date? I know a place that could totally take your mind off all of this." he whispered. Aerrin gave him a small smile and nodded slowly.

"Where do you have in mind?" Aerrow asked, "Its not where I think you're thinking, is it?"

"Oh yes, it is." Finn grinned at his Sky Knight, "Terra Tropica!" he cried, grabbing Aerrin's hands and clapping them together. Aerrin just laughed as Aerrow grabbed her hands out of Finns and used them to push on Finn's chest, causing him to fall off the bed and onto the floor. Finn sat up and glared over the edge of the mattress at Aerrow.

Aerrow chuckled and pointed at his sister, "She did it!" Finn just grumbled and picked himself up off the floor.

"So what d'ya say Aerrow? Can we go?" Finn asked sitting back next to Aerrin. Aerrow bit his lip and hummed.

"Pleeeeeease Aer?" Aerrin pleaded, "I'd really love to go."

Aerrow sat there silently for a moment, thinking. Eventually he sighed and nodded, "but the whole team gets to go too." Finn cheered and stood up, about to race off to tell the rest of the team. He stopped himself and turned around to address an uncertain looking Aerrin.

"Relax, okay?" he smiled, "The whole team loves you, despite what Piper said before. And anyway, you're more of a Storm Hawk than any of us."

Aerrin snorted, "How the hell do you figure that?"

Finn shrugged, "You and Aerrow are Storm Hawks by birth."

"So are you Finn" Aerrow mumbled. He was clearly beginning to drift of to sleep.

"Yeah, but I wasn't Striker's kid. I'm the son of the original Sharpshooter"

"Doesn't matter, you're still as much of a Storm Hawk as me and Aerrin." Aerrow said lazily, burying his face into Aerrin's hair again, "But that doesn't mean that the others are any less either." He tightened his hold around Aerrin's stomach and closed his eyes.

Aerrin motioned for Finn to lay down with her again. "I won't let you fall," she whispered, seeing that Finn was uneasy about sleeping on the edge of the mattress. As he lay down she placed an arm around him and buried her face in his chest. She relaxed when she felt his fingers slowly trailing along her arms and she began to drift off into a light sleep.

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****A/N****  
**YYYYYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHH! 10 Chapters! Woo! I think that's worth celebrating! :) :) :) :) Hopefully this chapter was okay. Its a bit mushy, but I figure that if I get it all out of the way now, there will be less when the story REALLY gets going. Oh yes, I have BIG PLANS for this little fan fiction! So add the story to your alerts (if you haven't already) and get ready, because the story is going to get very interesting VERY SOON! (If not next chapter, the one after... just so that you guys don't get too let down if the next one doesn't quite get to it)**


	11. Vacation

Chapter 11 - Vacation

"_You're going to have to speak eventually. Tell me how the girl survived."_

"_No! You won't get a WORD out of me!"_

"_The longer you resist, the worse your punishment will be. Dark Ace..." Cyclonis summoned her right hand man to her side, "Perhaps you can loosen her tongue?" The Dark Ace grinned evilly and approached the imprisoned woman menacingly, his blade held tightly in his hand._

_She looked up into his blood red eyes with her silver ones, "Please..."_

"_No mercy."_

The dream ended with a flash of light, followed by a loud thump and a feminine scream that sounded remarkably like a certain blonde's. Aerrow opened his eyes to see Aerrin staring straight up at the bunk above them and Finn climbing back up off the floor. Following Aerrin's gaze, he recognised two familiar faces peeking over the edge of the bunk above them.

"Piper, what are you doing?" Aerrow asked, rubbing his eyes. Piper brought the camera back down from her face, giggling like crazy.

"A little Sky Monkey told me you three were all asleep together, so I followed him back here to get a few pictures of it." Piper motioned to Radarr as she spoke, "We also set course for Tropica. According to Radarr, you said that we were going to go there anyway. Took us forever to figure out what he was saying too."

Aerrow gave Radarr a little smile, "Thanks buddy, I think we need that little vacation ASAP." Radarr chirped in agreement. "How long until we get there?"

"A couple of hours yet." Piper replied. Aerrow let himself relax again, turning his head slightly and glancing around the room. Aerrow noticed that Aerrin's gaze had been redirected toward Finn and she was giggling like crazy, making the sharpshooter frown.

"What?" he asked in a frustrated tone, turning his head frantically trying to find the source of Aerrin's amusement.

"Finn," Aerrin managed to breathe, "You, um... you split your pants when you fell off the bed." Everyone else in the room immediately cracked up. Piper held up her camera again and quickly took a snap of the now red Finn.

"It's not funny. Shut up." Finn snapped, earning himself a stern look from Aerrow.

"Don't you talk to her like that, Finn."

"I was talking to _you_," he replied, giving his leader a smug look. Aerrow tried to darken his expression and failed, unable to keep himself from smiling. In reply he simply mouthed the word 'bitch'.

"Now, now, boys," Aerrin intervened, "_both_ of you shut up."

"Yeah, okay. We wouldn't want Finn to split anything else!" Aerrow cracked.

"Oh very funny Aerrow," Finn glared at his Skyknight, "I'm gonna go and change. Aerrin, do you think you could, uh, help me?"

"Oh, right!" Aerrin jumped up and walked around behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hiding his backside from view.

"Thanks," he smiled gratefully at her over his shoulder, "the last thing I need is more shit from these guys." On queue, a slip of paper fell from above them and onto the bed next to Aerrow. Aerrin looked up to see Piper grinning at her from the top bunk. She glanced back at the paper and smiled, seeing the bright red Finn from earlier staring back up at her.

"Nice picture," Aerrow smirked.

"Yeah, ya see?" Finn rolled his eyes, "Here we go again!"

Aerrin narrowed her eyes at her brother, silencing him. She rested her head against Finn's back and sighed, "Come on Finny, let's go and get you out of those pants." Aerrow coughed, evidently choking on his own saliva. "You're so easy Aer!" she giggled, removing an arm from Finn to mess up Aerrow's hair. Aerrow retaliated by pinching Aerrin's arm. "Ouch!"

A few flashes of light lit up the room and the trio glanced up at Piper again. Aerrow just shook his head. Aerrin raised an eyebrow, "You call that a camera?" The others all gave her a quizzical look, "I'll show you later," she grinned. She pulled Finn by the hips in the direction of the door. Finn walked slowly toward the door, trying to make it the least awkward for them as he could. When the door closed behind them, Aerrow looked back up at Piper.

"So..." he started, acting as though he was unsure of what to say or do next. He placed his hands behind his head and glanced quickly at Radarr, who immediately understood what his friend was telling him. He jumped down onto the floor and hastily scampered out of the room.

His gaze back on Piper, Aerrow waited for her to say something. She smiled and climbed down from the top bunk and crawled up next to Aerrow, resting her head on his shoulder. "So are you alright 'Aer?'" she asked, mocking his sister's nickname for him. He nodded and wrapped his arms around Piper's shoulders. "She cares about you a lot, you can just see it."

"I know" Aerrow whispered, "It's strange though, having a sister. My only family has ever been the Storm Hawks. Even weirder than that, I know things about her. Its only been about a week and I feel like I've known her my entire life!"

"Well, you kind of have," Piper whispered in reply, reaching up and tangling her fingers in his red hair.

"No, its more than just that," he rested his forehead against hers, "It's like, I _know_ her. I know _everything_ about her. I know that her favourite colour is red. I know that she can't stand the taste or smell of fish. I know that she's been in love and I know that the person she loved broke her heart. I know these things and she's never even told me. Ask me about her world and her upbringing though, and I can't even guess. I just know _her._"

Piper attempted to shrug, finding it difficult with Aerrow's arms wrapped so tightly around her shoulders. "Well, you _are_ twins. Some people believe that twins have some sort of mental or spiritual connection, maybe its true." Piper looked up into Aerrow's green eyes with her gold ones, "you should talk to her about it later on. Maybe you two can figure it out together and strengthen the connection."

Aerrow nodded, he loved hearing Piper talk like this. At times it made him feel extremely unintelligent, but right now he found it just adorable. Her leaned over slowly and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Piper moaned into the kiss, deepening it by pulling him closer with the hand still entangled in his hair.

Aerrow pushed his entire body up against Piper's, continuing to gently caress her lips with his own. After what felt like an eternity, they exasperated for air. Piper's eyes were darting madly around the room. "What's wrong?" Aerrow asked.

"Aerrow, this is your sister's bed!" Piper exclaimed.

"Then that should make this even more exciting" Aerrow said huskily, pulling Piper on top of him and kissing her again.

* * *

On the flight deck, Aerrin was standing behind Stork, jabbering away to the pilot about the existence of mind worms.

"Oh yes, they do exist." she said brightly, "I learned about them in school -this place where kids have to go to learn until they're 17" Aerrin quickly filled them in, "mind worms are pretty rare though. There are plenty of other diseases that are more likely."

"You... don't have any, do you?" Stork asked quickly, turning his gaze to the young girl.

"No, don't worry Stork, I'm clean."

"That's disappointing. I've always wanted to observe an unknown virus or disease."

"Come visit me on my world and you can see plenty. There are so many interesting ones. A lot of them have interesting names too."

"Oh? Like what?" Stork turned around again.

"Well... there's the chickenpox," Aerrin shrugged. Finn's laughter interrupted her.

"Chickenpox? What the hell is that?"

"Its an infection that almost everybody on Earth gets at one time or another. They mostly get it in childhood but it can occur later in life. If it does occur later, it can be dangerous or even fatal."

"Pff! Right!" Finn rolled his eyes.

"Finn, it can make you sterile." Aerrin glared, making Finn's eyes widen, "It also covers your body in little pink spots that itch like crazy," she lifted up the bottom of her shirt and pointed to a few small scars on her stomach, "and if you scratch them, they scar. I got it a year ago. It isn't nice and its not funny."

Finn sank down into the nearest chair and Stork smiled, "Sounds interesting."

Aerrin shrugged, "Not really, it just sounds funny."

"Well, I think its interesting," Stork went back to steering the ship, "By the way, we're there. I just have to find somewhere to land the ship."

Aerrin bolted to the window, followed by a grinning Finn. "Oh my gosh! We're finally here!" Aerrin giggled with excitement, jumping up and down. Finn yelped in pain when she landed on his foot and grabbed her shoulders to hold her still.

"Ow," he groaned, cringing as he looked down at Aerrin, "Babe-I MEAN- Um, beautiful," he corrected himself quickly, "Let's go and see if we can find you a swimsuit to wear, okay?"

"Piper will have something I can borrow, won't she?" Aerrin asked. Already knowing Finn's reply, she tuned out.

"Well, if she doesn't you can always just go in nak- OUCH!" Finn yelled as the palm of Aerrow's hand came into contact with the back of his head.

"That's my sister you're talking about," Aerrow scolded him, grabbing the blonde's collar threateningly.

"Dude! Chill! I was only kidding!" a frightened Finn cried, desperately attempting to escape the red head's grip.

"I know," Aerrow's scowl quickly twisted into a smile and he released his friend and slapped him on the back, "I'm just messing with you."

"Heh," Finn laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't doubt that Aerrow would still make him pay for that comment later though.

Piper suddenly appeared at Aerrin's side and grabbed her arm, "Come on! Let's go find you something!" Aerrin was pulled from the room before Finn even got a chance to protest the abduction of his romantic interest.

Upon entering Piper's room, Aerrin took her usual seat at Piper's desk and swung her legs lazily through the air, "I don't have to wear anything too girly do I?"

Piper pulled open a closet in the corner of the room and began rummaging through it. "Do I look like the sort of person who owns anything girly?" she asked, pausing for a moment to raise an eyebrow at Aerrin. Aerrin shook her head and looked down at her legs. Her eyes snapped back up when Piper pulled something out of the closet and threw it at her, "You'd be wrong."

The swimsuit in Aerrin's lap was a black bikini. Aerrin immediately began to protest. "I can't wear this!" she cried, "I don't have the legs for it!" Piper just shook her head and picked up her own bikini, which was yellow in colour and really went with her eyes.

"Trust me," she whispered as she led Aerrin out of the room, "Finn won't be able to keep his eyes off you." Aerrin blushed as she walked beside Piper, the realisation that Finn would see her in it making her feel embarrassed.

"I-I don't know about this."

"You want him to notice you more, right?"

"I think he notices me enough, but if you think this is a good idea..." Aerrin trailed off. She looked down again at the plain black bikini in her hands. It was simple but it was designed to look good on. They entered the bathrooms and each entered a shower cubical to change.

A minute later the two of them emerged wearing their swimmers. Aerrin stared at herself in the mirror. The bikini actually didn't look too bad on her. It definitely drew attention to her chest, but it wasn't overdone and it made her feel a bit more confident in herself seeing that she wasn't completely skin and bones. The overall look even made her feel better about her thighs. She looked over to see Piper looking at her own thighs and sighing.

"You look gorgeous," she smiled, placing a hand on the crystal mage's back and causing her to smile.

"You too" Piper said softly, "Hey, I'm sorry about earlier by the way" she mumbled, shuffling on the spot.

"Nah, don't worry about it," Aerrin laughed, "It's all in the past. Come on, I want to get onto the beach."

The two girls wrapped towels around their waists and left the bathroom. When they walked back onto the flight deck, they were greeted by Finn's low whistle, "You ladies look _hot_!" he exclaimed, reaching out and taking Aerrin's waist, "I can't wait to show you off on the beach!" Aerrin gave Finn an amused look.

"Show me off?"

"I... did not mean that the way it sounded. You look beautiful is all." he muttered. Aerrin wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tight.

"When do I get to see you in your swimmers?" she flirted.

Finn looked down, "I'm wearing my swim trunks, if you didn't notice, I'm just still wearing my shirt."

"Well take it off!" Aerrin giggled, grabbing the bottom of the blonde's shirt and forcefully pulling it over his head. She looked back at him and examined his well toned chest. "Very nice," she said, trailing her hands down his sides, "I think you're the one whose gonna get shown off." Finn rolled his eyes playfully and hugged her again. Aerrow cleared his throat and Finn took a step away from Aerrin.

Aerrow was also dressed in his swim trunks, as were the rest of the team. Following Aerrow's lead, they all made their way down the corridors and off the ship. The moment Aerrin stepped onto the hot sand, she sighed happily. Looking around she saw several other ships parked along the beach, all scattered and a fair distance away from them. Behind them was a vast jungle which gave the impression of being on a tropical island.

"So that's why its called Tropica,"she said aloud to herself.

The team began to unload tents and other supplies from the ship. "We'll be staying here the night," Aerrow informed her, "but you can't stay on the beach unless you do it properly... That is, unless you're Stork." Aerrin chuckled when she noticed that Stork was standing at the open hatch of the Condor, looking down at the sand with a look of distaste. "He never stays down here with us. He'd much rather stay on the ship and 'protect' it." Aerrow an Aerrin laughed as they each carried a tent over to where Piper and Finn had set down the other supplies. Radarr was dragging a third tent along the ground behind them.

"Okay," Aerrow said, placing the tent he was carrying down on the ground, "Let's get the tents up now while its still light. I get the feeling none of us will want to do it later on. Piper, you can share with Aerrin. Finn and Junko, you have the larger tent. Radarr, you're with me." Finn started to protest but was silenced by Aerrow looking directly at him, "No negotiations. I don't want you anywhere near the girls' tent Finn."

Piper coughed and muttered "Hypocrite" earning herself a nudge in the ribs from her leader.

"Fine," Finn pouted, kicking his tent across the sand toward Junko.

* * *

The tents eventually got set up, with a few giggles along the way. At one point, Aerrow had asked Radarr to hold one of the poles down. The poor critter hadn't been heavy enough and was sent flying through the air and landed face first in the sand, much to the entire team's amusement.

Once everything was set up, Junko, Piper and Radarr ran straight for the water to get a quick swim in before lunch. Aerrow and Finn set up an umbrella and sat underneath it on their towels. Aerrin made herself comfortable next to Finn and helped Aerrow rub sunblock onto his back.

"Wow you're pale, Aer." Aerrin commented as she started applying the sunblock. Aerrow glanced over his shoulder and smiled as Aerrin continued, "I mean, seriously! How do you sit out here and not get burnt immediately?" The comment made Aerrow chuckle.

"Yeah, I could ask you the same thing, sis. You're just as pale as I am! By the way," he added calmly, "what's with the nickname? Not that I mind it. As obvious as it is, nobody has ever called me that before." Aerrin finished rubbing in the lotion and patted her brother on the back, letting him know that she was finished.

"Well, everyone needs a nickname," she shrugged as Aerrow turned around.

"What's yours then, sis?" Aerrow tilted his head and leaned back onto on hand.

Aerrin grinned, "I said everyone _needs _one, not that everyone _has_ one." Aerrow nodded slowly, "the closest thing I have to a nickname is the one you gave me."

Aerrow raised an eyebrow, "I gave you a nickname?"

Aerrin nodded, "'sis'" she replied cheerfully.

Finn snorted, "That's lame! You need a real nickname." He stood up and nodded in the direction of the kiosks, "I'm going to a smoothie. Aerrin, you want one?" Aerrin nodded in reply. "Any flavour in particular that you'd like?"

Aerrin thought for a moment, "Um, I really don't know. What are you getting?"

Finn bit his lower lip before he replied, "I'm stuck between two flavours."

Shrugging, the red haired girl looked back up at the blonde, "Just get both, okay? We can just share or something."

"Sounds cool to me. Aerrow—I mean, _Aer_," he mocked his leader, "think of a nickname for your sister, okay?" Aerrow saluted Finn playfully as the sharpshooter turned and wandered off toward the kiosks.

Aerrin sighed as she watched him walk along the beach. The environment really suited him. The sun shining down matched his hair as well as his personality and the rolling waves were as unpredictable as he seemed to be. "And the sand is just as annoying as him," she grumbled aloud, dusting as much sand as she could off her legs and sitting further back on Finn's towel.

Aerrow looked over at her and laughed, "he's one of a kind for sure." Immediately realising what he had just said, Aerrow slapped his hand over his mouth. This wasn't the way he had wanted her to find out about their so called 'connection'.

"What did you say?" Aerrin asked him, wide eyed. She watched her brother closely as he let his hand fall back into his lap.

"N-nothing, just talking to myself." he lied. Aerrin shrugged and leaned back again.

The two of them sat there for ages just watching the waves roll in and slowly get pulled back out again. The sky was completely clear today. Not a single cloud passed over the Terra as they sat there surveying their surroundings. The white hot sand appeared to be glowing, making t nearly impossible to see what the others were doing down by the water. Aerrow and Aerrin laughed when they witnessed a distracted Junko get completely wiped out by a rather large wave. Seemingly frustrated by the silence, Aerrin eventually spoke again.

"So what did you and Piper get up to after Finn and I left the bedroom earlier?" she asked her brother. Aerrow looked back over and grinned cheekily at his twin sister, falling back onto his towel and propping himself up on his elbows. Aerrin didn't seem to catch on, so Aerrow widened his eyes and stared her down until she finally clued on. "Oh my gosh! Did you really?" Aerrow nodded, stifling a laugh.

Aerrin reached over and slapped him on the thigh, "I'm so proud of you!" she laughed, "my little brother is all grown up!"

Aerrow coughed and laughed, "Uh, you know I wasn't exactly innocent before that, right?"

Aerrin tilted her head, "How would I know that?" she half giggled, she sat forward and took a piece of fruit out of the cooler beside her and looking down at it. It appeared to be some kind of berry. It was purple in colour and smelled sweet. She took a bite before addressing Aerrow again, "So, who was your first then?"

"Um, a girl named Kai. I don't want to talk about her though" he replied quickly, "I assume you're not so innocent any more?"

"What makes you say that?" Aerrin asked, grinning at her brother. He shrugged and reached over her to get something to eat from the cooler. Aerrin sighed heavily and stared down the beach, "His name was Mayson," Aerrow froze and looked over at her again as she spoke slowly, "he appeared kind and caring, but he was just a controlling, sexist pig."

Aerrow's eyes widened an he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "I-I didn't mean to bring up any painful memories for you," he frowned, "you wanna talk about it?"

His sister leaned over a bit further and rested her head on his shoulder, "Not really much to tell. I ended up getting annoyed when he wouldn't let me travel or join the armed forces. I had to decide whether I wanted him or if I wanted to be happy. I loved him, but I knew I had to do what was right for me. If I had stayed with him, he would have scarred me more. As it is, I'm afraid to really let my guard down around Finn. I think I made the right choice leaving Mayson."

Aerrow nodded and hugged her tighter, "You did, sis. I'm proud of you" he pulled away from her and looked her straight in the eyes, "You don't have to worry though, despite how I act about the matter, I trust Finn. With him, what you see is what you get. His mask is so transparent. We all know the idiot is a big softy... even though he tries to hide it. He would not and could not ever intentionally hurt you, right Finn?" Aerrin followed Aerrow's gaze until her eyes fell on Finn, who was standing next to them holding two smoothies in his hands.

"Right," he said slowly, "Aerrin, I'm sorry about what that moron did to you. You know I could never do something like that to you. Why didn't you tell me about him?" Aerrin shrugged and moved over so that Finn could sit next to her. As he knelt in front of her, Aerrin reached out and placed her right hand on his face gently.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I wasn't intentionally keeping it from you, it just never came up. I've... never actually told anybody else about it before either." Aerrin relaxed when she saw Finn smile, and grinned in return.

"Well, how about we cheer you up, hm?" He nudged Aerrin's leg with his knee, "We _are_ on holidays after all. I got the two different flavoured smoothies. One is strawberry and the other is banana. Which one do you want?" he held the two smoothies out in front of him for her to decide.

Aerrin was still unable to decide, "Can I try them both first?" When Finn nodded, she reached out and took the pink coloured smoothie from him. Taking a sip, she smiled and hummed happily. "That one's nice" she said as she reached out and took the other smoothie from the Sharpshooter. She took a small sip of the banana flavoured drink before looking back up at Finn, "I still can't decide."

"Maybe you should try both flavours at once?" Aerrow suggested in a bored tone. He was now laying flat on his back and watching a bug that had landed on the underside of the umbrella.

Aerrin nodded in agreement, "Thanks Aer." She quickly took another sip of each drink and smiled, "That's good. I like them that way."

Finn rolled his eyes, "Am I going to have to go and buy myself something else?"

Chuckling, Aerrin shook her head, "No, I wouldn't do that to you!" She passed him the strawberry flavoured smoothie, "I'll take the banana one. You should really try the two flavours together though."

"You think so?" Finn asked, smirking a little.

"Mhmm."

Before Aerrin even knew what was happening, she found Finn leaning over her, his lips pressed tightly against hers. Her mind instantly began to work at a million miles an hour. Should she kiss him back? What would the rest of the team think of her if she did? Would it start something that she would regret later on?

Only a second had passed and Aerrin's mind felt as though it had been racing for well over an hour. She realised that she had to make her decision now or risk hurting Finn later on. '_Ahh hell_,' she thought, '_I like the guy, so what's the worst that could happen?_'

She very slowly started to kiss him back, letting her eyes close. Her heart started beating faster and faster, pounding in her ears as she reached out with her free hand and rested it on the back of Finn's neck. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but when Finn pulled away again, Aerrin felt like she was flying. She had never been kissed like that in her life. It was so gentle and so sweet. So perfect.

She eventually opened her eyes again to see Finn's blue ones staring straight back at her. She leaned forward again quickly and gave him one last peck on the lips before she let her hand slide from his neck and onto the ground beside her.

"Wow," she whispered, grinning up at the smirking blonde.

"I'll say," he replied slowly, "those flavours are amazing together." He and Aerrin both laughed, not taking their eyes off each other. Finn moved so that he was no longer kneeling over Aerrin, but sitting close beside her. Their gaze broke immediately and their facial expressions changed drastically when they both came to the same horrifying realisation; Aerrow was sitting right next to them.

* * *

The Dark Ace grinned as he approached Terra Tropica. As the Master had predicted, the Storm Hawks' cruiser was visible parked on the beach below them. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the talon squadron surrounding him. This would be all too easy. The last thing that brat Aerrow would expect. He held a brightly coloured crystal out in front of him and cackled loudly. Such a simple plan, but so effective.

Soon it would begin.


	12. The Holiday Is Over

Chapter 12 – The Holiday Is Over

"Dude! Don't hurt me!" Finn panicked, dropping his smoothie and hiding behind Aerrin. After witnessing the sharpshooter kiss his sister, Aerrow had jumped up and balled his hands into fists, frightening his wingman.

"What the hell, Finn?" Aerrow bellowed, "I told you that you could go on a date with her, not shove your tongue down her throat after one date!" He stepped forward and attempted to grab the blonde from behind Aerrin, only to be blocked by Aerrin herself.

"Aerrow, come on! Calm down! It was only a kiss!" she cried, trying desperately not to look scared, but intimidating towards her twin brother. Seeing that she had failed, she quickly turned around and pushed Finn to the ground, away from her raging sibling. She grabbed Aerrow's shoulders and looked him straight in the face, "Aerrow, stop!" Aerrow looked down into his sister's eyes.

Aerrow's expression softened a bit, seeing the worry in Aerrin's eyes. He sighed and stepped away from her and looked out over the beach. After a moment of silence, Finn tugged on Aerrin's hand to get her attention.

"What do you mean it was _only_ a kiss?"

"Uh, I meant-"

The sound of blasters interrupted her, making all three of them jump.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Finn cried, "Cyclonians?"

Aerrin whipped her head around again to face Finn, only to find him half way to the Condor. She turned back around and silently asked her brother what to do.

"Follow Finn!" he yelled, pointing to the Condor. The moment they took a step out from under the umbrella, a rain of red energy blasts fell down from the sky above them, missing by only inches. "Don't stop! Keep running!" Aerrow cried from behind her. She glanced back at him quickly, seeing him holding his arm.

"You've been hit!"

"I'll be fine. Move!"

She turned back and bolted for the Condor, making it there only half a second before Aerrow. The door closed behind them and they fell onto the cold metal floor breathing heavily. Aerrin closed her eyes and listened to the sounds going on around the Condor. She could hear the engines starting up and the blasts from the Cyclonians hitting the outside of the ship, making it shudder. She was instantly reminded of old war films where soldiers would sit in the trenches and listen to the sounds of gunshots and explosions around them. The thought of her home world comforted her, however the thoughts of war scared her more. She quickly opened her eyes and rolled over to face Aerrow. He lay there silently, looking up at the ceiling, still grasping his right arm just above his elbow.

"Are you okay?" she panted, not realising she was so exhausted until now. Aerrow closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I need you to get Piper. The Dark Ace hit me with something. Whatever it is, its paralysed my entire body." he whispered. Aerrin sat up and reached out, gently taking Aerrow's hand away from his wounded arm. Blood now soaked his uniform and was beginning to run onto the floor. She ignored that fact when she noticed something else that she most definitely should have noticed before the blood. The wound was glowing a bright green.

"Oh my god," she whispered.

Aerrow groaned, "Aerrin, get Piper!" he was obviously getting worse. She heard footsteps running down the hallway toward them and she turned around in the direction of the sounds. There was at least two people headed their way.

"Piper!" Aerrin yelled, "Piper, Aerrow is hurt!" she lifted Aerrow's head up off the floor and moved it onto her lap so that he might be more comfortable. Aerrow squeezed his eyes shut in pain, making her panic, "PIPER!"

Finn and Piper came sprinting into the room. Aerrin glanced over her shoulder at them, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"What happened?" Piper asked quickly, moving to Aerrow's side and searching for his wound. She found it almost immediately and gasped, "Oh no."

Finn had rushed to Aerrin's side and knelt down beside her, "What is it?"

"Aerrow's been hit by a Toxima Stone." she closed her eyes tightly and let her legs collapse completely underneath her.

"What does that mean?" Aerrin asked, placing an arm across her brother's shoulders in an attempt to pull him closer. Piper gripped Aerrow's left hand tightly in her own.

"I-it means..." Piper's eyes began to fill with tears as she trailed off. Aerrow took his hand from Piper's and gently stroked her face as her tears started to fall.

"It means that this is going to get better, and then its going to get worse," he finished for her, "much worse. It'll happen over a few months." His eyes moved to stare up at Aerrin's now weeping eyes.

"W-what do we do to-"

"-nothing," Piper interrupted between sobs, "there's no known cure." She broke down in tears again, throwing herself across Aerrow's body and gripping his shirt tightly in her hands. Aerrin looked down at her brother again. For the first time since she had met him, she saw nothing in his eyes. No fire. No hope. No brightness. This wasn't right and it most definitely was not her brother.

A burning feeling arose in her stomach and spread throughout her whole body. In a burst of rage she returned her attention to Piper.

"No," she said harshly, shaking her head, "We're not giving up!"

"Aerrin, if Piper says there's no cure-" Finn started, only to have Aerrin hold her hand up to silence him.

"We are NOT giving up!" She repeated. Piper looked up from Aerrow's chest. Aerrin looked down at the sobbing crystal mage, "I'll patch Aerrow up and get him to his room. Finn," she looked at the sharpshooter quickly, "you and Junko get on the blasters and start shooting. Piper, help Stork to get us out of here NOW!" Finn and Piper just stayed still staring at Aerrin in disbelief until she yelled, "that's an order! MOVE!"

Finn squeaked and quickly made his way out of the room. Piper, kised Aerrow on the cheek and followed Finn out of the room.

"Wow," Aerrow said quietly after the others had left, "I've never heard your voice get so loud."

"I was just so amazed that they could give up on you so quickly." she said softly, "I've only just found my brother, I'm not about to lose you again."

Aerrow grinned at her weakly and let her help him to sit up against the wall. "I think we all saw something in you just then that none of us knew existed." he managed to turn his head to look at his sister, "I saw a leader." Aerrin gasped and held Aerrow's hand tightly as he went into a coughing fit.

Once his breathing became normal again, Aerrin wrapped her arms around him and sighed, "I'm no leader, I just don't want anything bad to happen to my family." Aerrow reached up slowly and placed one arm around her. There was no way he was going to lose her either.

"Well?" Master Cyclonis turned to greet her Talon Commander.

"I got him Master, just as you instructed." He knelt before her, offering up the Toxima stone for Cyclonis to repossess. "Tell me, how do you think this will assist in swaying the girl over to our side?"

Cyclonis laughed and motioned for Ace to stand up. "Simple," she grinned, "She'll want revenge for her brother's condition won't she? She'll come looking for us, and when she does, we have a bargaining chip that won't fail us."

"Why do we need to take her down if we've already got Aerrow?"

"Because they're twins."

"I don't get it."

"You will."

Finn was humming as he scribbled in the small note book on the desk in front of him. What a wonderful day this had turned out to be. He rolled his eyes at the thought. Aerrow was sentenced to death, but hey, Aerrin wasn't losing hope. Finn knew all to well that if Piper said there was no cure for anything, then there definitely was not. He closed his eyes and for a moment envisioned life a few months from now when Aerrow would finally pass. He could clearly see in his mind's eye both Aerrin and Piper crying and the whole world seemed to become dark. He mentally slapped himself when he realised what it was he was thinking. Shaking his head, he threw his pen down onto the desk and sighed.

"We're all thinking that way at the moment, Finn." Junko's voice came from across the room. He slowly made his way over next to Finn and sat down quietly on his bed. "Aerrin is right though, we can't give up."

Finn sighed heavily again and looked down at the floor, "I know, I know. Its easy to say that though and difficult to follow through. What are we going to do if we can't fix this?"

Junko frowned, "Finn, our team has done things that nobody else in the world has ever done before. We've survived countless battles, a trip into the great expanse, not to mention combat with Cyclonis and the Dark Ace themselves. This is just another obstacle."

Rolling his eyes, Finn stood up and patted the Wallop on the shoulder, "You've been talking to Aerrin too much buddy, you sound just like her. For a start, we've just been lucky in the past; its a wonder we're all still alive actually. The other thing is, all those amazing things were because of Aerrow. He fought Cyclonis and the Dark Ace. He led us into battle and he was the reason we always won-"

"-You forget though, he had us there to take out everyone else." Junko interrupted.

Finn inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, "Either way, this is different and you know it." He walked to the door without another word.

He paused for a moment when Junko said softly, "Aerrow would never give up on us. Remember that." Finn then continued out the door in search of Aerrin.

****A/N****

** Nyeh, short chapter. There's only one chapter left in this story ...possibly 2... then I start writing book 2! I'm planning about 4 in total... Might help me to set goals better if they're shorter XD**

** Sorry about the amount of time its taking me to update. My Dad is getting married tomorrow and we've already combined the two households... 6 people is a lot when there was originally 2! Haha! It should get easier soon though, and I'm really motivated lately. Let's see what happens then eh?**

** Please review! It motivates me more!**


	13. Plans

Chapter 13 - Plans

"Well done sis!" Aerrow cried as he pulled his skimmer up beside her in the hangar bay. Aerrin grinned like a Cheshire cat as she turned off the engine of Finn's skimmer.

Two weeks had passed since their encounter with the Cyclonians on Tropica and Aerrow had regained most of, if not all, of his former strength. Whenever he managed to escape Piper's constant check ups, he insisted on giving Aerrin proper lessons on piloting a skimmer. Today, Aerrow had woken his sister at the crack of dawn so that they could leave early to avoid yet another of Piper's examinations.

'She's overdoing it,' Aerrow had whispered to Aerrin as they made their way to the hangar bay, "I know why she does it, but it doesn't mean I wont get out of it if I have the chance."

So far they had spend the entire morning circling a nearby, unpopulated Terra, leaving Aerrin plenty of room for error. They realised they were hungry around noon, and despite Aerrow's pleas for them to go and find a somewhere to eat out, they returned to the Condor get something to eat.

They dismounted their rides and started walking toward the ship's kitchen. Aerrow stepped closer to Aerrin, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders. "You learn fast," he grinned, "I'm impressed!" He pulled her tighter into a one-armed hug as he spoke.

She laughed and wrapped her right arm around his waist, "I had a good teacher, that's all." Aerrow leaned back from her slightly and attempted to glare at her, but he was unable to keep from smiling.

"Who, Finn?"

"Exactly!" She laughed, earning a light jab in the ribs from her brother. She pulled him closer to her again and hugged him to hold his arms down, "but you were pretty helpful too, _little_ brother" She laughed as Aerrow pulled himself free of his grip and playfully tackled her to the floor and pinned her beneath him.

Aerrin squealed as she struggled against her twin brother's grip on her wrists. She stopped for a moment and glanced around the room before smiling evilly and looking Aerrow right in the eye, "Give up Skyknight! You can't win this."

Aerrow chuckled, "And how, may I ask, is what you're doing a form of winning?"

Aerrin shook her head, "It isn't, but my backup is here" she nodded in the direction of the door. Aerrow looked quickly over at the door, immediately falling for her trick. Aerrin managed to free one wrist and poke him in the stomach.

"Oh very funny," Aerrow rolled his eyes and pinned her wrist to the floor again, "Like that would work. You're no where near fast enough or strong enough to move me."

Aerrin exhaled and relaxed, "Okay, okay... Hey shouldn't you buy me dinner before pinning me down like this?" she giggled as Aerrow quickly released her and crawled a meter or so away from her.

"Your sick!"

"I'm free!"

Aerrin jumped up and ran for the kitchen, Aerrow hot on her heals.

"CHEATER!"

Upon entering the kitchen, Aerrin was immediately smothered by Finn. "I missed you Aerrin, where've you been?"

"Well, just now I was being raped by my twin brother" she giggled just as Aerrow walked into the room. Finn raised an eyebrow and let his jaw drop.

"Good look, honey" Aerrin smirked.

Aerrow rolled his eyes, "I wasn't raping her, we were wrestling." Finn's gaze moved from Aerrin to her brother.

"What the hell kind of shit are you two into?" he asked slowly. Aerrin went into a silent fit of laughter as Aerrow explained what had happened. "Definitely sounds like rape to me Aerrow," Finn chuckled, "Don't touch your sister any more, okay?"

"I won't if you won't" Aerrow retorted.

"Fat chance!" Finn scoffed, wrapping his arms around Aerrin's hips and lifted her over his shoulder, "I'm going to have my way with her right now!" Aerrin stopped laughing and attempted to look around at Aerrow. To her surprise, he didn't look mad, but amused.

"Okay then Finn, try and carry her out of here."

Grinning like an idiot, Finn started walking toward the door with Aerrin still over his shoulder. She realised what was happening and began beating his back with her fists. "PUT ME DOWN! I'm hungry! Let me eat first!" She noticed Aerrow's eyes widen as she spoke the last part.

"Okayyyy," Finn lowered her back to the floor and pulled her against him, "promise?"

"No."

"Aww, come on!"

she turned to her brother, "Aer, help me find something to eat?"

"Sure sis," he replied.

"Aerrinnnnnnnnnn!" Finn continued to whine. Aerrin sighed and turned around to face him again. She grabbed his collar and pulled him into a rough kiss.

When she pulled back for air, she gazed up into his bright blue eyes with her emerald ones and grinned cheekily. "Finny," she whispered, "Lets have another date tonight."

* * *

"No," Aerrow scowled, "You can't leave the ship." Finn had asked the same question six times now, and Aerrow had replied with the same answer each time.

"I want to take her somewhere nice for the night! Is that really so evil?" Finn pouted, hurrying after Aerrow, who had just started making his way back down the corridor. "Please just stop for a minute" he begged, stepping in front of the Skyknight and blocking his path, "why is it that the thought of me treating her to a fun night scares you so much?"

"Because I know what you have in mind, Finn" Aerrow snapped back, glaring his sharpshooter right in the eye, "You'll be kind and gentle and act like you care JUST so you can fuck a hot chick. You'll use her and throw her aside! I will NOT let that happen to my sister." Finn's look of annoyance didn't change, so he added, "I want you on the ship so that I can keep and eye on you."

Aerrow's anger turned into confusion when the blonde cracked a wide smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. _'He should be tearing me a new one for what I just said!'_ Aerrow thought, _'And instead he smiles?'_

After a minute, Finn managed to speak. "So that's your problem! Now I get it" he laughed, "Dude, do you really think that little of me? Do you think that I would really do something like that to such a good person? Have a little more faith in me, I'm not that shallow." He squeezed Aerrow's shoulder lightly when he looked away, "Its okay though," he chuckled, causing Aerrow to look up at him again, "I can see why you'd think that way... We both know I'm not the most reliable guy."

Aerrow sighed heavily and spoke quietly, "If you're not that shallow, then tell me why you like my sister."

"She has a nice set of ti-"

"-FINNEGAN MARSHALL!" Aerrow yelled angrily, slapping Finn's arm from his shoulder

Finn sighed, "She's the first girl that likes me for me. She's fun to be around and makes me feel like I'm not a complete failure." He let himself fall back to lean against the wall, "I don't know how to explain it but I like her for more than just her looks... She is a babe though, I have to say." he smiled and stood upright again and glanced back at Aerrow, "You satisfied with that answer or should I just not talk to her any more?"

Aerrow smirked and pulled his best friend into a quick hug before whispering, "Just promise to look after her, okay?"

"I promise."

As Finn turned to leave and made his way up the hall, Aerrow called out after him, "You're still not allowed to leave the ship tonight!"

"Aww c'mon!"

* * *

"Aerrin!" Piper called after the redhead from down the hallway. Running to catch up to her, Piper grinned happily, "I found something you might like to wear for your date with Finn tonight!"

"Whoa, hold on a minute," Aerrin shook her head in confusion, "Finn said he we weren't allowed to go on our date. And anyway, isn't the first date the one that girls are supposed to fuss over? This is the second."

"I managed to convince Aerrow to let the two of you have the ship to yourselves... sort of." Aerrin tilted her head to the side, questioning her. Piper lowered her voice to a whisper, "Stork refuses to leave Finn here without his supervision so..."

"Ah, say no more," Aerrin nodded, "I can see why."

"And just so you know," Piper added quickly, "_Every_ date is worth fussing over. You only get so many after all."

Aerrin nodded again in agreement, "Very true. You'd better tell me what you found then."

Piper's smile widened as she held up a dress she had been holding on to. "Take it" she said happily, passing it to Aerrin, "I bought it a few months back but I never had an opportunity to wear it. I know that Finn won't be able to resist you in this." Aerrin smiled softly in reply and held up the dress in front of her. It was a small black dress that would not have gone very far down Aerrin's thighs. The fabric was soft and it looked like it was very figure hugging until it got to the waist where it fell. The top was a halter neck that was a rather low cut.

Aerrin now wore an amused expression, What exactly do you think Finn and I will be doing?" She laughed nervously when Piper crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Why did she feel like she was being set up for this?

"You really think I don't know what you _really_ want to do to that blonde? Come on, we're both girls here, just admit it."

"I haven't known him that long!"

"Doesn't mean you don't want to" Piper teased, "Come on, just tell me!"

Aerrin blushed a shade of red only slightly lighter than her hair as she responded, "Probably the same things that you want to do to Aerrow?"

"Touché"

"Okay, so to go _that_ far, this dress would be a good thing, but isn't this a little dressy for a dinner on the ship? I seriously doubt Finn is going to be anywhere near as dressed up." She continued to admire the dress as she spoke before looking back up at Piper, awaiting a response.

Piper's eyes glittered mischievously as she began to push Aerrin toward the bathroom, "Don't assume shit. Now let's go and get you ready for tonight."

* * *

Finn walked onto the flight deck and immediately wished he hadn't. The entire team, minus the two girls, were sitting around chatting. The moment they laid eyes on Finn, they all simultaneously burst into fits of laughter. Aerrow winked at the blonde, "Hello gorgeous."

"Fuck off," Finn groaned, raising a middle finger, "I'm doing this because you said I had to."

"Language!" Aerrow laughed, "And you want to kiss my sister with that mouth?"

Finn rolled his eyes and looked back down at his outfit. He was wearing a light blue suit, but had chosen to forget the tie and just left the top button of his white shirt undone. His hair had been washed, which made it look lighter and brought out his eyes a lot more than usual. Finn sighed and collapsed into the nearest chair, "Is this _really_ necessary?"

"Mhmm," Aerrow nodded.

The blonde groaned again, "Aerrin will just laugh at me."

Junko grabbed Finn's shoulder, "We're just messing with ya buddy. You look great! I'm sure Aerrin will think so too." Finn kicked at the floor, not feeling much better.

"Speaking of Aerrin," Stork interjected, "We were all wondering if you had a plan for her for when..." he trailed off. Everyone in the room gazed gloomily at Aerrow.

The Skyknight managed a sad smile, "It's okay guys, you can say it. I'm going to die, its just a matter of when. I've already come to terms with that." It took everything he had not to look at his team mates, knowing the expressions the all wore. "As for Aerrin," he moved on, "I do actually have a plan for her."

Everyone was listening intently now. Aerrow took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm going to get weaker, so I won't be able to teach Aerrin for much longer" he said quietly, "So Piper and I talked it over. I decided to make a call to the Skyknight academy on Terra Atmosia and get them to pull a few strings." He looked up and saw the guys looking rather confused.

"Um, what do you mean 'pull a few strings'?" Junko asked, scratching his head in confusion.

Aerrow took another deep breath and looked at Finn as he spoke, "Aerrin will be going there in two days. She's getting fast tracked through the academy." His eyes swept the room quickly and returned to look at Finn as he added the part that made him want to cry himself, "She'll be gone for three months."

* * *

****A/N****  
** :3 Not long now guys! And yeah, Finn's last name is Marshall. Deal with it XD  
**


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